Oath of Blood
by Icy the Frostbringer
Summary: "You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty" Lelouch vi Britannia's own words as he executed his brother. But when it mattered most, he was too weak to follow his own advice. What if he was strong enough to do what was necessary?
1. First Blood

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, now all of you, die!" The Black Prince's left eye flared a bright crimson as the power of Geass burned into the souls of the dismounted royal guardsmen before him.

The fourteen men dressed in their distinctive dark red uniforms stood at attention and raised their pistols to their own heads. "Happily your highness!" they shouted in perfect unison just before they fired.

As the dead royal guards fell into a rapidly growing pool of their own blood Lelouch smiled. Now after seven years of hiding in the shadows he had a real weapon with which to strike at Britannia. Barely 20 seconds after the last shot, a Britannian Army Sutherland with distinctive red shoulders burst through the door of the warehouse and immediately deployed its factsphere sensor.

Once again Lelouch flared his Geass "I order you to come out at once!"

"Just who the hell do you think you are to order me?" The female Sutherland pilot yelled back at him through her speakers. Instantly realizing that his power had failed for some reason, he needed to give her a reason not to shred him with the heavy assault weapon pointed in his general direction.

"My name is Alan Spacer, my father is a duke, after you check my identity I will request your protection." Lelouch took note of his power's first known limitation and decided to fall back on his exceptional ability to deceive. The pilot snapped up the chance to rescue a noble and complied with the request. She had barely finished lowering herself to the ground when Lelouch decided to try again.

"You can check my ID if you want, but first I would like to borrow your Sutherland, your pistol as well." As she made eye contact the Geass invaded her mind and extinguished all hope of resisting the command. She handed Lelouch her pistol and ignition key while telling him the security code in an unnaturally calm tone of voice. By the time she regained control of herself, Lelouch and her knightmare were long gone. Lelouch needed a better grasp on the bigger picture of what was happening in Shinjuku. He reached for his phone and hit a number saved in the speed dial.

"Lulu you better not be out gambling again or I'll-" A familiar voice yelled at him to start their conversation.

"Shirley this is important, are you near a TV?" Lelouch asked in a more serious voice.

"A TV? Yes but what-?" She managed to secure the remote from one of the other swim club members despite their protests.

"The news. Is there anything about Shinjuku?"

"Just some traffic restrictions, Lelouch." Shirley informed him.

"Why is it restricted? Have they mentioned anything else?"He asked calmly. If the truth was being suppressed so effectively, it likely meant that Clovis and the military needed time to get their stories straight. From what he had seen in the last hour, it was clear that the girl in the capsule was both extremely important and regarded as top secret. Some of the transmissions that Lelouch was listening in to with his captured Sutherland indicated that even the military was being kept in the dark.

Lelouch was about to ask Shirley another question when he saw a Britannian Badger IFV and a squad of dismounted infantry open fire on a group of unarmed Japanese civilians. He quickly sighted and acquired the IFV, the rangefinder showing 62 meters to the target. The Black Prince clicked in the red thumb ball on the right control stick and sent a torrent of 25mm armor piercing high explosive rounds into the hostile vehicle from behind. The APC shuddered as the rounds penetrated the thin rear armor, before hitting something vital and exploding in a large fireball. He then shifted the fire right and effortlessly exterminated the dozen or so infantrymen next to the burning wreck.

"Lelouch that sounded like gunfire, what is happening over there?" He could hear the panic creeping into Shirley's voice. Lelouch looked down and saw a discarded chess board that had apparently been dropped by a fleeing civilian, and upon zooming the view in noticed that the only two pieces on the board were a still standing black king towering over a fallen white rook. A flash of inspiration suddenly hit him.

"Yes Shirley, I seem to have dug my own grave for the 15th time this year. Assuming I'm still alive tomorrow I'll tell you all about it." Lelouch closed the phone and began to think of a way out of the mess he found himself in. Although he had a fully armed knightmare frame, he was by no means an expert pilot. He was effectively surrounded in the middle of the ghetto with dozens of Britannian armored units attacking the area from all sides. He noticed a new unit entering the area on his IFF system, an unmanned Britannian supply train that was marked as a weapons shipment. Why it was coming directly onto a battlefield, he did not know or care, but Lelouch recognized an opportunity when he saw one.

An explosion about 100 meters distant derailed his train of thought. He saw the red Glasgow from the terrorist truck, now missing an arm, being chased by two Sutherland pilots. Overconfident Sutherland pilots, he corrected himself Despite the clear line of sight to their unarmed enemy they were not firing their assault rifles, just toying with her. Perfect.

Lelouch pulled the radio transmitter he had taken from the terrorist truck out of his uniform and flipped it over. There were a list of names and associated frequencies on a sheet of paper taped to the back. He remembered that the driver of the truck had called the woman that got into their Glasgow "Kallen". A quick adjustment to the radio and he was on her line.

"The west entrance. Jump onto the tracks and move to the west entrance." He ordered the Glasgow pilot over the terrorists' frequency.

"Who are you and how do you know this code?" the Glasgow pilot shot back with an angry tone.

"Trust me and win, or be stubborn and die. You do want to win don't you?"

"To win?" She wondered aloud. They were just the local Shinjuku resistance group, the thought of actual victory against the power of Britannia had up until that very second never entered their thoughts.

The Glasgow did as the voice on the radio said and jumped up onto the tracks, followed closely by her two pursuers.

"Now what? There's no cover from those Sutherlands up here." She asked her mysterious new commander.

"Jump onto the train and keep going. They won't shoot, not while they are having so much fun toying with you." The red Glasgow did as he instructed and jumped, leaving the lead Sutherland stuck against the front. As the second Sutherland tried to jump over the first to continue the pursuit Lelouch lined up a shot from a nearby rooftop. His twin slash harkens impacted the Sutherland in mid air, crippling the unit and knocking it off the tracks to the street below. The remaining Sutherland, not yet realizing that he was under attack, opened a comm channel to Lelouch.

"State your name and unit soldier! We're after the one armed Glasgow." Lelouch's reply was a burst of well aimed rifle fire that destroyed the Sutherland's left leg. As he was about to raise his own rifle to return fire the pilot noticed the red Glasgow accelerating over 140 kph across the top of the train directly at him, he immediately ejected.

"You saved me, but how did you get a hold of a Sutherland?" She looked over at the building that was the origin of her unknown ally's fire but saw nothing. Before she could ponder what exactly had just happened a squad of terrorist infantry broke cover and ran toward her Glasgow.

"Kallen what happened? Who was that voice on the radio?" One of the insurgents asked her as they came running up from another direction.

"He contacted you too? I don't have a clue who he was but he sure went out of his way to save me." Ougi, the leader of the resistance cell was about to put his radio away when it crackled to life.

"Are you the one in charge?" The mysterious voice asked him.

"Uhh, yeah I'm in charge here." He replied with some hesitation.

"I present to you the contents of that train. They should be a nice upgrade from those RPGs and assault rifles you carry." Kallen opened the door of the first car with her Glasgow's remaining arm and her eyes went wide with shock. Staring back at her were 3 factory fresh Sutherlands along with plenty of additional energy fillers, weapons and ammunition. As other resistance members opened the other cars they found that they all had a similar cargo of knightmares.

"These Sutherlands place you on an even field against Britannia. Follow my orders and I shall grant you true victory on the scale of Itsukushima." That last line turned a few heads. The battle of Itsukushima was the only Japanese victory in the entirety of the Second Pacific War. Lieutenant Colonel Kyoshiro Todou's display of tactical brilliance and determination earned him the title of Miracle Worker. "Woman in the Glasgow, stay where you are. Your unit will run decoy. Change your energy filler, re arm, and await further orders." The voice instructed.

"Understood." Kallen switched out her empty filler for a new one, and picked up a KAR 25 assault rifle in her Glasgow's remaining arm. Because Lelouch had captured an operational Britannian Sutherland that was still connected to their networks, he in effect had a complete list of enemy communication codes, IFF frequencies, and a near real time map of enemy force deployments. He immediately began to process this information and create orders for his newly acquired terrorist allies.

"P1, P5, P7 enemy Sutherlands will reach your position in 23 seconds from the north, shoot them through the wall." Despite some of the terrorists expressing their disbelief that a nameless voice on the radio could actually know exactly when and where the enemy would be, Ougi ordered everyone to double check their weapons and take aim. Despite an initial protest, notably from Tamaki, the newly formed knightmare group readied their assault rifles. Five terrorist Sutherlands formed up and took aim at the designated wall. Exactly 23 seconds after they received their order they opened fire in unison, blasting away the thin concrete wall and completely destroying the two enemy Sutherlands behind it. The terrorists cheered as the enemy units exploded.

"You heard him, do what the voice says everyone." Ougi effectively relinquished command to the voice on the radio and placed his forces directly under its control. Lelouch wasted no time. He began to give orders as fast as his brain could process the information with an inhuman level of accuracy. The Black Prince micromanaged his forces with skill reminiscent of a professional Starcraft player. He read the enemy moves with near perfect precision, forcing them into ambush after ambush. Lelouch had turned a group of disorganized terrorists that two hours earlier could barely scratch the seemingly invincible Britannian war machine into a force that was steadily dismembering it. He knew that his terrorists were poorly trained and overall inferior pilots to the well drilled Britannians. Instead of direct combat his tactics focused on ambushes, hit and run strikes, and using the terrain of the old ghetto against the enemy. For the first time in history he was employing time tested guerrilla warfare tactics with knightmare frames instead of infantry with lethal results. As the Britannian forces began to fall back to defend their G1 mobile base victory seemed imminent.

"This is P4 reporting enemy activity at point D17."

"What do you see P4? Enemy reinforcements?" Lelouch asked, expecting to hear that Clovis was beginning to panic from suffering such devastating losses.

"Negative negative, there's just one enemy unit, its some kind of new white knightmare! Its so fast I can barely get a lock on it-" As the line cut to static another report came in.

"This is P6, that white frame has some kind of energy shield, we cant even scratch it!" Lelouch immediately set his genius mind on the task of figuring out what was happening. Based on the reports his troops were giving him, there was only one enemy unit, it was equipped with extremely advanced technology, and it did not show up on his IFF screen. The only logical conclusion was that it had to be some kind of new prototype that was deployed as a last resort.

"All forces fall back to point F31 immediately! The enemy is some kind of advanced prototype knightmare that is far superior to a Sutherland. Lure the enemy unit in and surround it." As the terrorists fell back to their new rally point the white knightmare used its speed advantage to catch a squad that lagged slightly behind. The unit's arm mounted energy shield absorbed the incoming fire as it closed the distance to the three terrorist Sutherlands. A slash harken shot forward from its right wrist and decapitated the closest Sutherland. The second Sutherland fired its slash harkens at the white frame, who fired the harken on its left wrist to block one and dodged the other. The white frame reactivated its energy shield and sped forward, using it as a weapon. It shield slammed a Sutherland, shattering the unit's sensors and breaking its arms. The final Sutherland attempted to flee only to be hit with both of the white frame's slash harkens from behind. Seconds later the White Knight found himself under fire from the east; a single red Glasgow with one arm firing an assault rifle. He immediately repositioned the frame's energy shield to absorb the fire and gave chase.

"Q1 here, the white knightmare took the bait and is coming full speed after me, everyone get ready." Kallen pushed her old Glasgow to the limit as she tried lured the enemy unit through the streets toward point F31. Waiting for them were the remaining 17 terrorist Sutherlands, 12 of which were concealed in the destroyed buildings surrounding the intersection, the remaining five were lined up in the street.

Lelouch's plan was nothing short of brilliant. He knew that this white knight was not afraid to fight against superior odds, and so he designed an ambush that was clearly a trap. The five Sutherlands in plain view were not enough to scare him away, but enough to keep him engaged while the remaining 12 surrounded from the rear.

* * *

"I've destroyed three enemy Sutherlands and am pursuing a red Glasgow." Suzaku reported.

"Just be careful Private Kururugi, the Lancelot is unfinished, and has not yet been equipped with an ejection mechanism."

"I'll keep that in mind Cecile." Suzaku looked over the Lancelot's condition readout. Energy filler was near 79% charge, Blaze Luminous shield had recharged to 90% strength, and there was only superficial damage to the frame itself. From what he had seen so far he felt confident that he could defeat these terrorists and end the fighting.

The Glasgow pilot he was chasing was certainly no novice, that much was certain from how well they were able to maneuver through the tight streets while still delivering accurate bursts of fire against a fast moving target behind them. 'If that guy had a better frame I would probably be in for a real fight.' Suzaku thought to himself as he moved to follow the red Glasgow around the next corner.

Suzaku turned his Lancelot around the corner and found himself staring down five enemy Sutherlands who had already pretargetted his position. The red Glasgow moved out of the line of fire just as all five Sutherlands unleashed streams of 25mm rifle fire at the Lancelot. He brought up the Blaze Luminous shield and rushed forward toward the six enemy knightmares, pushing the Lancelot's agility to the limit and he attempted to dodge as much fire as possible. The enemy Sutherlands were too tightly packed to maneuver quickly and Suzaku took full advantage of this, firing both of his slash harkens at two different targets simultaneously. Neither terrorist could dodge at that distance and the anchors smashed into their right arms, disabling their weapons. The Lancelot surged forward with the energy shield leading the way in an attempt to replicate his earlier shield bash. Kururugi put as much kinetic energy as he could behind the shield bash as it impacted one of the Sutherlands that was still firing at him, sending the severely damaged unit flying into a nearby building.

Suddenly the remaining knightmares stopped firing and rushed at him from three directions. Suzaku used the Lancelot's superior speed to reverse away from them back into the middle of the street. In perfect unison the shelled out buildings around him suddenly erupted with torrents of 25mm rifle fire and incoming slash harkens. He tried to position his shield to absorb the incoming rounds, but it could only face in one direction, not four. As hundreds of high explosive rounds rained down from the buildings above, several terrorist knightmares moved to block off each entrance to the narrow street.

"Suzaku you won't be able to eject, get the hell out of there before they kill you!" Cecile screamed into the radio as she watched the elaborate trap spring all around him. Surrounded and out of options, Suzaku did the only thing he could. The Lancelot accelerated to full speed toward the south exit of the street, the least defended one. Although the terrorists were definite not expert marksmen, they still scored dozens of hits on his frame, blasting large chunks off of the white armor and blackening the rest.

Just as he smashed through the three Sutherlands blocking his escape a burst of very well aimed fire from the red Glasgow connected with and destroyed his left land spinner, sending the Lancelot crashing through an abandoned apartment building. Suzaku's world faded to black as the impact forced his head through the forward most display screen.

* * *

"Nice shooting Kallen!" The terrorists cheered their ace for delivering a crippling blow to the white knightmare. Several of the Sutherlands moved up to find the white frame inside the partially collapsed apartment.

"All forces pull back to the subway tunnels and retreat, massive Britannian reinforcements are inbound from Tokyo. Today you dealt Britannia a devastating blow, defeated their White Knight, and proved beyond any doubt that the Japanese people have not given in to their tyranny. Escape and regroup, I will contact you again in a few days."

As the terrorists retreated underground, Lelouch turned off his radio and made his way closer to the Britannian G1 mobile base. After parking his Sutherland behind a nearby building he dismounted and donned the helmet that completed the Britannian army uniform he was wearing. As he approached an entrance to the G1 he was stopped by a guard who demanded to see ID. Lelouch removed his helmet and activated the Geass in his left eye. "You will let me through and stop anybody else that tries to get past you."

"Yes, your highness!" The mind controlled guard opened the door and handed Lelouch his assault rifle. He made his way to the command center at the top of the G1 and opened the door. Inside the room were the G1's command crew, and the Viceroy himself. The Black Prince raised his rifle at the ceiling and fired a shot, immediately drawing the attention of all nine people in the room.

Now that he had eye contact he again flared his Geass. "Everyone except for Viceroy Clovis line up and stand at attention." All eight of the command staff had no choice but to comply with the intruder's order, and they all stood in a perfect line. Lelouch calmly raised his rifle and from right to left sprayed them with 6mm rounds, killing them all. The weapon clicked empty. Lacking extra magazines for the weapon, Lelouch dropped the assault rifle into the rapidly expanding pool of blood and drew his pistol as he advanced on the raised throne at the center of the room. Even though the man in front of him just killed eight people after somehow forcing them to stand there and take it, Clovis remained relatively calm.

"Now Prince Clovis, you will order a ceasefire or you will be joining your friends down there." Lelouch motioned toward the dead bodies at his feet. Unarmed, alone, and faced with someone who was clearly ready to kill, he knew he was in no position to argue. Clovis hit the communications array on the arm of his throne.

"Cease fire at once! I, Clovis la Britannia, Royal Viceroy of Area 11 order all forces to cease fire at once. All casualties either Britannian or Eleven are to be given full medical attention. All combat operations in Shinjuku are hereby ended immediately." Clovis looked at the mystery intruder who still had a pistol aimed at his head. "There, was that satisfactory?"

"Indeed it was Viceroy." The masked soldier replied.

"Now what? Perhaps we sing a few lively ballads, or maybe a game of chess is more to your taste?"

"That sounds familiar Clovis, I was under the impression that we just got done playing a lively game of chess. You lost."

"So you were the one commanding those terrorists out there. Even Todou the Miracle could not have pulled off such a victory against impossible odds. Who are you?" Clovis strained his eyes against the darkness but could only make out the outline of the intruder's head, no distinctive details.

"In my seventeen years I have lived two lives, you are only familiar with one of them. The real question is do you want to know who I was then, or who I am now, big brother?" Lelouch stepped out of the shadows into the light barely two meters from Clovis. "You knew me seven years ago as Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne."

"Lelouch? No it can't be! I thought that you had died. The Emperor himself said so!"

"And you really believe all the lies that monster breathes out? No, brother, I was sent here with my sister to be disposed of, not exiled."

"What do you mean 'disposed of''? He sent you to Japan to make you stronger."

"If all the OSI assassins he sent after me were just a test to 'make me stronger' then he certainly succeeded, but I severely doubt that directing airstrikes onto the house I was living in would do anything other than make me just another martyr to use against the Japanese people." Lelouch stepped closer. "The real reason I was exiled to Japan was because he sat down and thought long and hard about how to kill his own son without actually killing his own son. In the end he concluded that by making it look like I was executed by the Japanese in retaliation for the invasion he could both get rid of me, and make his new enemy appear as savage as he wanted you to believe them to be."

"What are you saying Lelouch? Why would our father want to kill you?"

"Name one person who has openly defied him in his own court and lived to tell about it Clovis, just one, anyone." Clovis sat for a moment, unable to answer. The silence from Clovis was all the answer he was expecting.

"I can forgive you for your stupidity, I can forgive you for your ignorance, and I can forgive you for your incompetence. However Clovis, I cannot forgive you for all the innocent people that were murdered today simply because you said so." Lelouch stepped forward and planted the cold barrel of his pistol firmly between Clovis's eyes.

"Wait you can't Lelouch! We may have different mothers but we are still blood! Would you really kill your own brother? They were just some Elevens!" As tears began to flow down Clovis's face he looked up into his brother's eyes and saw only cold, calculating hatred. Lelouch began to slowly depress the trigger. Lelouch's response was just as cold as the metal touching his forehead.

"You're right brother, they were just Elevens. And you were just a Britannian."


	2. Secret Lives

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Lelouch vi Britannia picked up the helmet he had earlier discarded as he stepped over the bodies of the dead command staff in the G1. Fortunately for him the helmet had not landed in the small lake of blood that now filled the center of the room, and that would make his escape that much easier. He walked down the darkened hall toward a rear exit, leaving a trail of bloody boot prints behind him.

Outside he found several government cars parked behind the G1, most likely part of the massive wave of reinforcements that had been called in to suppress the now non existent terrorist threat in Shinjuku. He walked up to one of the cars who's driver was still waiting for someone. Lelouch knocked on the window.

"You will take me to a destination of my choosing and forget you ever saw me." The Geass bored into the man's mind.

"Understood your highness, where to?" The driver immediately responded.

"The nearest train station that has a route to the Britannian settlement." Lelouch got in the passenger seat and put his head back. This was the first break he had since this whole mess started four hours earlier. He started to think about everything that had just happened. He thought about the terrorists, Clovis, the strategy and accompanying tactics he had used to defeat the Britannian military, and about he strange new power.

As the car drove further and further away from the smoldering ruins of the Shinjuku Ghetto there were two people he could not get out of his head. First was the nameless green haired girl whom he had found bound and gagged inside of a container that had been marked as chemical weapons, and who had somehow given him a supernatural power after being shot between the eyes. The second was the exceptionally skilled terrorist who was piloting the red Glasgow. Her crimson hair, blue eyes, overall shape were all strikingly familiar to him. Lelouch was almost certain he had seen her somewhere before, but could not place it. That was not all that kept his mind on the mysterious pilot. She looked Britannian, sounded Britannian, and had a Britannian name, yet fought as hard as she could for Japanese terrorists. On top of that, they clearly accepted her as one of their own.

Lelouch pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Too many questions and too few answers were not going to help him get home in this exhausted state. It wasn't until now that he finally realized just how long of a day it had been. Lelouch had studied for three hours, spent nearly half the day involved in a string of illegal gambling matches, acquired a supernatural power, defeated the Britannian military, and committed several acts of High Treason including regicide, all in the span of 14 hours.

"We have arrived at the station as you requested your highness, the next train bound for the settlement leaves in 10 minutes." The driver said as he pulled into a parking space near the terminal, the glow of Geass still bright in his eyes.

'There's no turning back now. It's about time I started fulfilling my oath.' Lelouch thought to himself as he walked up to the terminal, still dressed in his captured Britannian Army uniform.

* * *

Private Kururugi Suzaku opened his eyes only to see bright white lights. He turned his head and realized that he was in a medical bay again. For a brief moment he wondered why, until the memories of the previous day's ambush in Shinjuku came crashing into his mind just as the Lancelot had crashed into that apartment building. He tried to piece together what had happened. He remembered chasing a red Glasgow around a corner right into five enemy Sutherlands and then suddenly coming under fire from every possible direction. Only then did Suzaku recall the Lancelot's land spinner being destroyed and the crash. Suzaku groaned as he tried to sit up, a powerful surge of pain shot through his head.

"Are you awake Suzaku? Do you remember what happened?" It was Cecile, Earl Lloyd's assistant in the Special Engineering division.

"Cecile, what happened in Shinjuku? Did we win?"

"I'm afraid not Suzaku. Although you managed to destroy nine terrorist knightmares they had more than we could have expected. It appears that you were baited into an elaborate trap, the five Sutherlands in the intersection were the real bait, not the red Glasgow you were chasing. Judging from the Lancelot's combat data there were at least 10 more enemy knightmares hidden in the buildings along both sides of the street. You were outnumbered at least fifteen to one, maybe even more."

"How did terrorists get a hold of so many knightmares?" Suzaku wondered.

"I don't know Suzaku, but it is clear that they were no ordinary terrorists, They were well supplied, and well organized. Even the JLF does not have the resources for that kind of operation. Whoever they were they managed to destroy dozens of our knightmares and armored vehicles with barely any losses of their own. Shinjuku is the first time in years the Britannian military has actually been defeated in a real battle on this side of the planet."

Suzaku was about to reply when seven heavily armed soldiers burst into the room, weapons at the ready. A finely dressed Britannian officer came in behind them, his uniform adorned with the emblem of the Purist Faction.

The Purist Faction was an element of the Britannian military opposed to the incorporation of Numbers into their ranks. They held the belief that only pure blooded Britannians should be allowed to serve in the military. In the wake of Viceroy Clovis's death they quickly asserted their dominance over the military in Area 11 and started cracking down on anyone that did not conform to their views. The man who stood before Suzaku was none other than Jeremiah Gottwald, leader of the Purist Faction. He made eye contact with Suzaku and spoke with authority.

"Private Kururugi Suzaku, you have been implicated in the assassination of Prince Clovis, Royal Viceroy of Area 11. The charges against you consist of conspiracy, being an accessory to regicide, and high treason. You are to be detained immediately pending the start of your trial in three days."

"Wait Lord Gottwald! Suzaku was in constant communication with us yesterday, and he was unconscious at the time the Viceroy was assassinated. There is no way he could have had anything to do with this!" Cecile quickly tried to defend him.

"Unfortunately for you and private Kururugi miss Cecile, the Special Corps no longer has any authority here in Area 11. His fate shall be decided by a military court."

Suzaku sat in his hospital bed in a state of almost complete shock. He had never been told that Viceroy Clovis had been assassinated until he was accused himself of being a conspirator. Although Suzaku wanted to protest this accusation, considering his status as an Honorary Britannian he knew better than to try and argue with a very pissed off Nobleman who would be more likely to shoot him than listen. He simply kept his mouth shut as Jeremiah's men rolled him off to the hospital's prison wing.

* * *

The train ride back to Tokyo was uneventful as nobody dared question a masked Britannian special forces soldier. Lelouch was thankful for the half hour of peace, even if it was out of fear. The time gave him the opportunity to look a few moves ahead and begin developing a plan to follow up on his victory at Shinjuku. The fact that he had actually fought the most powerful military in history with nothing but a few bands of terrorist irregulars and achieved a decisive victory was just starting to sink in.

Lelouch left the station and made his way to one of the many secret access points to Ashford Academy he had made over the course of his illegal gambling career. People would immediately be suspicious if they saw a lone Britannian soldier entering the campus. After successfully sneaking into the Academy he went through the clubhouse and up to his room. Following what was almost certainly the quickest shower of his life, Lelouch stuffed the special forces uniform and the pistol under his bed before passing out from exhaustion.

The following morning went by in a blur. Lelouch found himself once again falling asleep. First in class, and now in the student council meeting room. He awoke to a vicious assault with a roll of paper.

"I know you were sleeping, your hand stopped moving!" Milly Ashford yelled at him as she continued to hit him in the head with a roll of documents.

"Well you don't have to beat me up over it, yesterday was a long one Milly." Lelouch stated as his clearly insufficient defense.

"Yeah what was up with you yesterday Lelouch? I thought I heard gunfire when you called me." Shirley joined in, her last comment turning everyone's attention to them. "You did say you would tell me all about it Lelouch, remember?" Lelouch looked around and saw everyone in the room staring at him, eager to find out every last detail.

"Guess I can't shoot my way out of this one, you win Shirley. After I ditched Rivalz I went down to the ghetto to play a really high stakes game. A local syndicate of the Yakuza offered me a 30% cut if I could beat a man known as the Black King, a higher up in the Britannian mafia."

"Wait Lelouch, you mean Yakuza, as in the Eleven mafia?" Rivalz asked with ever increasing curiosity.

"Yup Rivalz, that Yakuza."

"Playing for the Eleven mafia is dangerous stuff Lelouch, what did they offer ya?" Rivalz asked.

"30 percent...of a million pounds." The entire student council gasped in unison at the incredible sum of money.

"So what happened? Did you win?"

"Do I ever lose Rivalz? Of course I won, the game lasted less than seven minutes."

"But then where did you stash all that money?"

"Unfortunately the Britannians didn't like the thought of being humiliated by the Elevens, especially when it was a Britannian student who had done the humiliating. The Brits drew their guns and the Japanese did the same. We got out of there when the hot lead to air ratio started rising." Lelouch explained.

"As insane, reckless and stupid that sounds Lulu, what does that have to do with Shinjuku? That was what you called me for."

"The Yakuza said that the Britannian military was attacking Shinjuku and asked me if I could call someone to see what the news had to say. As it would turn out, some terrorists got a hold of some chemical weapons and used it when the military tried to get the canisters back." Lelouch explained.

"You know guys, as interesting as Lelouch's mafia adventures in the ghetto are we still have to balance the school's budget." Milly said in an attempt to draw everyone's attention back to the task at hand.

"You could have told us about that yesterday President." Shirley complained.

"Or how about you tell us about it tomorrow?" Rivalz added.

"You know, we could still do that." Lelouch added in agreement.

"GUTS!" Milly roared out, startling everyone.

"You trying that 'guts' spell again?"

"Sorry Milly, but I don't think your magic is going to do a whole lot."

"Actually its got me going madam President!" Shirley said in opposition to Rivalz and Lelouch.

"Supple and Willing, that's what I like."

"I train hard in the Gymnastics Club." Shirley brought her arm up

"That's not what I was getting at Shirley, you're a 10, from what I've seen the girls bathroom anyway, you've been filling out in all the right places." Milly said with a sly grin.

"Wwwhat are you talking about you perv!" Shirley yelped as she noticed Milly's eyes fixed on her chest.

* * *

As the meeting ended news of the previous day's events in Shinjuku began to appear on the news, although heavily biased in favor of the Britannian colonial government. The broadcasts contained basically the same story Lelouch told Shirley, that terrorists had released poison gas into the ghetto while attempting to avoid capture by Britannian military forces. There was no mention of the actual battle, Britannia's defeat, or the death of Viceroy Clovis.

Lelouch walked out of the building into the main courtyard. It was a perfect sunny day, not a cloud in sight, not too hot either thanks to a light breeze. The weather meant that quite a few students also had the same idea of taking a break in the sun. As the Black Prince walked through the courtyard he saw people gathering around students' computers, all hungry for more information about Shinjuku. Out of the corner of his right eye he saw three girls eating lunch on the grass. When his vision came across one with a head of fiery crimson hair and bright blue eyes he nearly froze. The image of the terrorist boarding the Glasgow before the Battle of Shinjuku instantly flashed into his mind. There were just too many similarities between them for it to be a coincidence. Then it suddenly all came back to him, all the reasons she was so familiar. Kallen Stadtfeld, a student at the academy for the past two years. She frequently missed class due to some kind of illness or so the story went.

Lelouch spied a chance to get some information as he saw the three girls scatter, two of them screaming about a bee. The only one who remained calm was Kallen. She retreated behind some bushes and instantly killed the bee with a precision strike, something that seemed more characteristic of a soldier than a sickly student. She took a large, aggressive chomp out of her sandwich and turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her face changed from frustration back to innocence as she tried to recover the rapidly degenerating guise of being a sickly, weak girl.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked in a voice that sounded far too innocent. Lelouch wasted no time. His left eye lit up as she looked into it.

"I want answers." Lelouch's Geass burned into her mind.

"Of course." Kallen replied, in a trance like state.

"Were you the one piloting the Glasgow in Shinjuku?"

"Yes."

"Why terrorism?"

"Because I'm Japanese, although I'm technically half Britannian." She revealed.

"But why go so far?"

"My brother Naoto fought against Britannia from the very beginning, when I became old enough I joined to fight as well." Kallen continued.

"Tell me about the terrorist group you are with."

"We aren't very big, our group itself doesn't even have its own name. After my brother was killed by Britannia, Ougi took over as our leader. As our best knightmare pilot I was responsible for piloting our only Glasgow."

"Although you are a half blood you identified yourself as Japanese, what is your real name?"

"Kouzuki." Lelouch blinked and discharged his Geass, satisfied with the answers she had provided him. As he began to walk away he turned and reactivated it.

"Don't say anything about Shinjuku."

"Shinjuku? What do you mean?" Lelouch was momentarily shocked that his Geass had no effect upon her. Up until that point he had never tried to use his power on someone twice, they either never saw him again or were all dead. He tried to order her again.

"Go back to class." he ordered.

"Not until I get some answers Lelouch." She shot back, angered by his tone.

"Lelouch its your turn to setup the chemistry lab. Get moving!" Shirley yelled out from the nearby door. He was quick to go running toward her to escape the mess he was about to get himself into. The rest of the day at school went by uneventfully. Lelouch went home to have dinner with his sister Nunnally.

Later that night Lelouch lay in bed staring up at the darkness in his room, his mind wrapped in layers of complex thought.

'To wage war upon the greatest empire in all history I am going to need allies, those who would stand and fight at my side against the Empire's evil. Those terrorists from Shinjuku would make a nice start, they certainly proved themselves willing and capable enemies of Britannia. But how to make them my allies?' Lelouch's serious expression turned into a large evil grin as he formulated an intricate plan to win over the Glasgow pilot, Kallen. All he needed to make it work was some carefully applied Geass, and a bottle of Champagne.

* * *

The next day Lelouch found himself in the same history class as Kallen. All he needed to do now was get her to the ballroom at the student council's club house. 'As soon as class is over.'

"Mr Lamperouge please answer the question." The teacher singled him out, most likely for his tendency to constantly daydream during her lecture.

"The Aristocracy were highly educated and placed such an emphasis on training that they produced a superior breed of ruler. Secondly, they possessed heightened efficiency since only a small number were chosen..." He accurately answered her question the way she wanted to hear it before going back to his own thoughts.

"Thank you, that will do Mr Lamperouge." As the teacher shifted her attention away, Lelouch redirected his to going over his plan's every possible outcome. Exactly twelve minutes later the bell rang to signal the end of class. Most of the class packed up and left the room, but a few stayed behind to talk. Rivalz was talking to another boy at the other side of the room and several girls including Shirley were gathered around the desk of Kallen Stadtfeld. Lelouch walked up to the front of her desk, two of the girls retreating before his advance.

"You think you can spare a minute? I need to talk to you." Several of the girls, Shirley in particular gasped in surprise.

"Sure, I was wondering when you would ask me that." Lelouch and Kallen started walking away from the group of shocked girls behind them, not caring in the slightest how much fuel they added to the now rapidly turning rumor mill. They walked across the campus to the ballroom in the student council's club house.

"Are you sure we won't be disturbed in here?"

"Yes, that is correct." The entire student council showed up as if on que to destroy Lelouch's credibility.

"I finished up on my end, shall we dig in?" Milly walked into the room with an entire serving cart worth of food. One by one the student council members introduced themselves to Kallen until a motorized wheelchair moved into the room.

"I'm sorry Shirley but could you set these on the table for me?"

"That's Lelouch's sister Nunnally.", Milly explained, "She was blinded and crippled in some horrible accident eight years ago. I wouldn't ask about it though, they don't like to talk about it, even I don't know the details."

"So then, shall we kick this party off with a toast?" Rivalz produced a bottle of champagne he had stashed under the table. As he tried to remove the cork Shirley pounced on him in an attempt to get the bottle. "Heads up Lelouch!" He threw the bottle to Lelouch who managed to catch it seconds before Shirley vaulted over Rivalz.

"You're not getting away with this either Lulu!" As Shirley struggled with him the cork was about to come off. Lelouch instantly put his epic brainpower to work calculating the exact angle he would need to spray Kallen with the exploding champagne. His calculations were spot on. The cork came off and flew at high speed toward Kallen's face, however her lightning reflexes kicked in and she swatted it away. That did not save her from a cold champagne shower though.

"Kallen, there's a shower upstairs. Go wash off while we get you a change of clothes." Milly said while glaring at Rivalz.

As Kallen showered away the champagne she heard a knock at the door. She pulled the curtain.

"Its Lelouch, I brought you a change of clothes."

"You can come in, I've drawn the curtain." Lelouch entered and closed the door behind him. Kallen's very attractive outline was clearly visible through the thin shower curtain. Although it was just an outline, he could tell that she was definitely lying about being frail.

"These are some of my clothes, I hope you don't mind."

"No its cool, don't worry about it."

"I apologize for that, they can be a bit over the top sometimes." Lelouch said as he moved closer.

"Guess there's nothing wrong with cutting loose every once in a while."

"Yeah, you're right Kallen." Lelouch turned as if to walk out of the room.

"Hey wait! Can you hand me that pouch over there?" Lelouch picked up the pouch and his finger immediately found the tip of a hidden blade in the pink pouch. He reached for the pistol that was concealed on the back of his pants, being careful not to make any distinctive noises. As he put his left hand with the pouch through the curtain she forcefully grabbed his wrist, making him drop the pouch. As she reached down to pick up the pouch without letting go of his arm Lelouch clicked the safety off and brought the pistol up. When Kallen looked back up with the knife extended she found herself literally staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Gun beats knife Kallen, don't even try it." Lelouch warned.

"I knew there was something about you Lelouch. Who are you, Special Branch? OSI?" She questioned, clearly knowing that she had been exposed. Lelouch smiled, finding it ironic that she thought he was an agent of the very organization that had spared no expense trying to kill him.

"Seeing as you get flawless scores in history class I'm going to ask you two questions that if you answer correctly will tell you exactly who I am."

"Answering questions with questions, I suppose I have no choice. Alright then, ask away."

"Lady Marianne, former Knight of Six and imperial consort, she was a commoner by birth. What was her original name before she married the Emperor?" Kallen pushed her brain to remember this piece of obscure information.

"It was Lamperouge wasn't it?" She recalled.

"Correct Kallen, next question. Lady Marianne had two children, who were they?" Kallen's heart nearly stopped as the answer flashed into her mind. The names instantly clicked in her mind, and she suddenly understood who was holding her at gunpoint. She quickly realized what he was really getting at.

"Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia." Kallen spoke quietly in a tone that sounded almost completely overwhelmed with fear. She had never been in such a powerless position in her entire life. Completely naked with nowhere to run, and on the wrong end of a pistol held by a Britannian prince. The Japanese resistance fighter could not have imagined a worse fate.

"Correct again." Lelouch said as a grin swept over his face. "Judging by the expression on your face right now I would guess those names are setting off all kinds of alarms in your head."

"Lelouch...Lamperouge...You're a prince? But you died during the invasion seven years ago."

"That's what I wanted the world to believe. I faked our deaths to hide from the Emperor's assassins. The Ashford family were my mother's old allies, and they were more than happy to help us." Lelouch revealed.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"You showed a lot of talent in that Glasgow the other day Q1." He replied in the same cold tone of voice that he had used to command the resistance. Kallen's already saucer wide eyes grew to the size of full scale dinner plates.

"You were the voice in Shinjuku?" She asked in near disbelief.

"Yes." He answered calmly

"But you helped us kill your own people. Why?"

"Because I hate Britannia and everything it stands for. We were exiled because I stood up to the Emperor in his own court and demanded justice for my mother's death. That was the day I learned the truth about Britannia. Only the strong are worth anything to them, everyone else is just a liability." Lelouch explained.

"I could never have imagined that royalty would feel that way. But that still doesn't tell me why you want to help the Japanese."

"After Britannia killed my mother and took away the only life I ever knew, I was sent here. I lived in Japan for months before the war, and just when I finally felt that I had a place to call home again, Britannia took it all away for the second time. As the sun set on that day I swore an oath to the world, I swore that one day I would destroy Britannia and create a peaceful world for my sister. Now after seven years of waiting and watching I finally have the chance to do just that." Lelouch flipped the gun around and presented it to Kallen grip first. "Will you help me free Japan and kill the Emperor? Will you join me in my war against the Holy Britannian Empire, Kallen?"

"Only if you tell me exactly what I want to know, Prince." She decided to exploit the fact that she was no longer a trigger pull away from death to try and get some answers.

"Very well." He agreed.

"Did you get Clovis to order that ceasefire?"

"Clovis was at heart nothing but a coward, put a gun to his head and all that remains is a puppet on a string that would do anything you say."

"You just said he was a coward, not is a coward Lelouch." Taking note of his choice in words.

"He certainly was a coward Kallen, would you like to know what he said when I asked him why he ordered his army to destroy Shinjuku? He said they were just Elevens. They weren't even people to him, Kallen. I'm surprised they have managed to cover up his death for two days."

"You killed him?" She asked, astonished that Lelouch had just admitted assassinating the Viceroy.

"You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty." He replied with a grin.

"What do you really hope to achieve Lelouch?"

"Free Japan, destroy Britannia, and obtain vengeance for my mother and sister. In other words I'm about to declare war upon a third of the world, and the most powerful nation in human history. To win, I need to build an army worthy of such a task, and based on what I saw in Shinjuku, I think you would make a great start." Kallen blushed slightly and stood up.

"Although I never thought I would ever in a million years find myself agreeing with Britannian royalty, I would be glad to join you, Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Just one condition Kallen, never under any circumstances tell anyone who I really am without my permission. If word of my survival gets out the OSI will be swarming all over Area 11. They don't take failure lightly."

"Got it."

"Oh and by the way Kallen, I honestly don't know how you manage to keep up the illusion of a sickly, weak noble girl with such a fantastic body." Kallen looked at Lelouch and finally realized that she had completely exposed herself when she stood up. She pulled the shower curtain around her defensively. Lelouch laughed as he began to leave.

"Don't worry, nobody will hear of this." He reassured her as he shut the door.

A few minutes later Lelouch and a fully clothed Kallen made their way back down stairs to the ballroom where the rest of the student council was.

"Well, well, you two sure took your sweet time up there." Rivalz called out, his mind clearly running wild with that information.

"Oh Lelouch, please tell me nothing happened between you two!" Shirley shrieked.

"Actually we had quite a moment up there in that bathroom, didn't we Kallen?" Her face went as red as her hair.

"It wasn't like that!" Kallen said in a desperate attempt at her own defense.

"Of course it wasn't." Lelouch winked at her.

Suddenly Milly burst in from the next room "Oh my god its horrible! They are saying Prince Clovis was assassinated!" Everyone followed her into the side room with the TV, where the broadcast had switched to an aerial view of a man in white being escorted by a squad of Royal Guardsmen.

"This just in! The assassin has been captured! Honorary Britannian Private Suzaku Kururugi is under arrest on charges of high treason and regicide!"

Kallen looked over at Lelouch and whispered. "You said you did it."

"I did. Since the radical Purist faction has taken control of the military they are most likely framing him in an attempt to angle the blame toward the Japanese to further their own agenda. My pistol's twelfth round is still in Clovis' skull." Lelouch whispered back.

"What are we going to do Lelouch?"

"What else is there to do? We are going to rescue him." He quietly announced to her.

* * *

"So Kallen, how's campus life treating you?"

"Stifling as ever Ougi. Yesterday I had to give a speech in history class praising the glory of Britannia's leaders. It makes me sick. Maybe I should just head back.

"Stay there Kallen, the army's on high alert right now, best to just lay low. Besides, Naoto would have liked to see you back in school."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"Did you hear about Clovis being assassinated? That Suzaku Kururugi really has some balls to join the Britannian military only to get close enough for an assassination."

"He didn't do it Ougi." She informed him.

"What do you mean he didn't do it?"

"He's being framed by the Purist faction."

"What makes you think that Kallen?"

"I had a nice long chat with the real killer today." Kallen revealed confidently.

"What? How?"

"As it turns out it was our radio friend from Shinjuku."

"You found him?"

"He found me. He's actually a student here, believe it or not."

"He's Britannian then? There aren't any Japanese students at that school."

"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you Ougi. This guy is the real deal. We can meet up at Tokyo Tower tomorrow. By the way Ougi, how many Sutherlands do we have left?"

"Seventeen operational, why?

"Our friend has some big plans for tomorrow night, and we're all invited."


	3. Foundations of an Unholy Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

1600 hours, Tokyo Tower War Museum. Ougi and two other members of the Shinjuku resistance group board the elevator that would take them up to the observation deck. The night before Kallen called him back and told him to go to the Tokyo Tower observation deck to meet up with her, and finally meet the mystery radio voice from Shinjuku in person. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to reveal the glass walled room with one of the best views Tokyo had to offer. Ougi looked around for about a minute before he spotted Kallen and a Britannian in their Ashford Academy uniforms standing in the north east corner, noticeably away from most of the tourists on the floor.

"Glad you could make it Ougi." Kallen greeted them.

"You too Kallen. Was this the guy from Shinjuku?"

"This is my friend Lelouch Lamperouge. He's a chess master, strategic genius, and long time enemy of Britannia."

"Pleased to meet you all. P1, P4, P7." Lelouch shifted his eyes toward Ougi. "Guess I should call you Ougi then."

"Could you two leave us for a few minutes, we need to talk to Ougi alone." Kallen motioned toward the two other resistance members. As they walked away Ougi walked closer.

"What's up Kallen? Why did you ask them to leave?"

"Because Lelouch requested that only the two of us are to know his real name for the time being."

"His real name? Lelouch Lamperouge is just an alias then?" She nodded at him.

Kallen looked around to make sure there was nobody close enough to hear them. "Take a deep breath Ougi, and try to resist the urge to shoot us. His real name is Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Empire." Ougi froze in shock.

"What the hell are you doing introducing us to royalty Kallen? Did you really just sell us out?"Ougi asked with a mixture of shock and surprise that she could have just betrayed them.

"She hasn't sold you out to anyone Ougi. I was the one that handed you a factory fresh batch of Sutherlands. I was the one that gave you a decisive victory in Shinjuku. And it was me, not Kururugi, that put a bullet in the Viceroy's head. I wouldn't imagine that an officially dead traitor such as my self could really be called a prince anymore. However, I am restricting knowledge of my identity to just you two for our own protection. If knowledge of my existence leaks out it is almost certain that the OSI will show up to assassinate me." Lelouch informed him.

"Why would the Emperor send his own personal assassins to kill his own son?"

"Because he tried very hard to do just that seven years ago. For all he knows he succeeded." Lelouch explained.

"This is gonna be a really big pill to swallow Kallen."

"Tell me about it Ougi. When I found out that he knew who I was yesterday I tried to assassinate him. He was a good five moves ahead of me. By the time I had my knife in my hand I was staring down the barrel of a gun. That's when he told me everything and asked for our help." Kallen recalled, twisting the truth to spare herself the embarrassment of what happened in the shower.

"Our help to do what exactly?" Ougi asked them.

"My plan is simple, really. I'm going to rescue Suzaku Kururugi and humiliate the Purist faction in the process." Lelouch told them.

"And how do you plan to do that, your highness?" Ougi asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"I have a habit of achieving the impossible."

* * *

Six hours and a lot of work later Lelouch, now dressed in his new Zero outfit, was standing atop a reasonably well made copy of Prince Clovis' personal transport. The raised rear section had been rigged to fall apart, revealing the container from Shinjuku that the majority of the military still believed was a poison gas weapon. The Britannian flag on the front was made of paper that had been coated in a highly flammable accelerant, designed to burn away in a fraction of a second. His plan was bold, daring, and borderline insane, but he had somehow managed to convince Kallen and Ougi to go along with it.

Kallen drove the replica car out of their makeshift workshop and toward the main highway where the military procession escorting Suzaku Kururugi to his trial was moving along. As they approached an on ramp to the highway, they encountered their first problem of the night.

"Zero we're approaching a checkpoint. They have tanks aimed at us." Kallen warned in a nervous voice. As she continued driving toward the ramp. On either side was parked a Panther tank, a single shot from either of their cannons would be capable of reducing their car to a burning pile of scrap.

"Don't worry, they will let us through. Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald is the type of man that loves being in the spotlight. He wouldn't let a few lowly checkpoint guards rob him of a chance to obtain glory." Just as Lelouch predicted the soldiers and tanks at the checkpoint kept their weapons aimed at the replica transport as it drove past, but not a single one of them fired. As the impersonation royal transport made its way onto the main highway that was the linear route from the government building to the Central Tokyo Courthouse they were suddenly in the spotlight. Lines of Britannian citizens crowded along the sides of the roads, eagerly waiting to see the man accused of killing their prince.

* * *

"Lord Jeremiah, there is a single vehicle approaching along the main highway. We let it through as you requested sir." The lieutenant commanding the checkpoint radioed in.

"Could it be a terrorist vehicle?"

"Sir, It's Prince Clovis' car." The lieutenant reported.

"Really now? It appears that we have a comedian on stage. Just let them through to us lieutenant." Suzaku Kururugi was being transported under armed guard on top of an APC, surrounded by four Sutherlands with Jeremiah Gottwald in the lead unit. As the vehicle approached the convoy Jeremiah opened his cockpit and stood up above his knightmare's head. "You dare desecrate his highness's transport! Come out of there at once!" The impersonation transport slowed to a stop as he spoke.

Barely three seconds after Jeremiah finished speaking a fire appeared at the base of the Britannian flag on the front of the car. The flames burned at lightning speed, disintegrating the flag in an instant and revealing a man dressed in an elaborate black suit with a matching cape and mask, to the astonishment of all who were there to witness it.

"I am Zero!" The crowd on the sides of the road gasped at this sudden turn of events and every camera in sight was instantly retargetted upon this masked man calling himself Zero.

Jeremiah drew his pistol and aimed it high into the air. "Well, Zero, I have seen enough of this little show of yours." He fired a single round into the air. Immediately four additional Sutherlands used their slash harkens to rope down from VTOL transports orbiting the highway and surrounded the vehicle. "First thing's first Zero, lose that mask." Jeremiah ordered with confidence.

Zero reached up as if he was about to remove his mask, but then he raised his arm into the air and snapped his fingers. The entire rear section of the replica transport suddenly broke away to reveal the capsule from Shinjuku that supposedly contained poison gas. Only Lelouch, Clovis, and very few others who were still alive knew the truth about what the container really was. All of the military personnel still believed that it was the poison gas canister that had not been recovered during the Battle of Shinjuku. Jeremiah, alarmed at seeing the device, aimed his pistol at Zero.

"Are you sure you want to do that Jeremiah? Not only am I wearing a dead man's switch for this capsule, there is always the possibility that you could set it off with a gunshot." Jeremiah hesitated at that statement. A dead man's switch is a biometric trigger that sets off a device if the wearer's heart stops beating. Jeremiah understood that if he were to shoot Zero the result would be the same as if he detonated the weapon himself. If the weapon was really as they had been told, then thousands of Britannians would die if it was detonated here.

"Fine. What are your demands Zero?" Jeremiah reluctantly asked, knowing he could not shoot his way out of this mess.

"An exchange. This device for Kururugi." Zero replied, .much to the surprise of everyone present.

"You're mad! This man is charged with high treason for murdering a prince! Like hell I'm handing him over to you." Jeremiah yelled back in response. Zero tapped his foot against the car's roof twice and it slowly moved forward.

"You're wrong Jeremiah. Kururugi is no murderer." Zero looked directly at a nearby cameraman and produced a pistol. "I killed Prince Clovis myself! In fact, this pistol's magazine is still missing the one bullet I left in his head." The crowd held their breath as Zero not only admitted killing a prince, but also produced the murder weapon on a live international broadcast.

"You'll pay for your crimes against the crown, Zero!" The four Sutherlands took aim at Zero, all they needed now was Jeremiah's order to fire.

"You don't want the public to learn of Orange do you? If I die it will all go public." Zero announced.

"What the hell are you talking about Zero? What is Orange?"

"Why do you think Clovis ordered the complete destruction of Shinjuku? It certainly wasn't for this little gas canister. If the Viceroy's secret research program codenamed Orange became public knowledge he would have almost certainly been disinherited or worse. The terrorists that you were chasing stole a critical component of his Orange research, and they didn't even know it." A slot over Zero's left eye opened on his mask, giving him direct eye contact with Jeremiah. "If you don't want me to destroy Clovis' good name you will do everything in your power to help us escape, your prisoner as well." Jeremiah's eyes began to give off a faint red glow as the Geass seized control of his mind.

"Understood. You there, release the prisoner!" Jeremiah ordered the two armed guards atop the APC. The guards looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what to do. "Get that man over here, private!" Jeremiah yelled at them. As the guards moved to comply with their superior's order one of the other Sutherlands opened its cockpit.

"Lord Jeremiah what the hell do you think you're doing?" His subordinate asked, clearly overcome with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"I said release the prisoner! That is an Order Viletta!" As Kururugi walked toward the car Zero and his masked female driver came out to meet him half way. Zero noticed the shock collar around his neck.

"I see, they didn't even let you speak. I suppose that is rather fortunate for me, since you most likely would have tried to say something about the true nature of my gas canister. " Zero pulled a detonator from his pocket and held it high for all to see. "Until next time, Jeremiah!" He pressed the button and purple gas flooded out from the container with a loud hissing sound.

As the crowd scattered in panic, Zero and his driver grabbed Suzaku and pulled him off the side of the bridge. Twin slash harkens fired out from the darkness below into a nearby wall with a net rigged between them over an open top truck. As the three fell into the truck a Sutherland rappelled over the side of the bridge on its slash harkens and opened fire on the construction knightmare that fired the anchors. 25 mm rounds tore through the lightly armored unit, tearing it to pieces in seconds. The pilot ejected the cockpit block as the frame was disintegrated. Jeremiah had no choice but to do exactly as the Geass order commanded. He opened fire on his own lieutenant, Lord Kewell, destroying his Sutherland's legs and forcing him to cease fire.

* * *

Zero and his allies escaped with their newly liberated captive as the truck drove off into a nearby subway tunnel and into the ghetto. With Jeremiah unwillingly covering their escape with his Sutherland nobody was successful in pursuing them. The truck exited the tunnels near a shelled out theater in the Eleven residential district. Parts of the building were caved in, and there was plenty of evidence from the number of holes in the walls that fierce battles took place here during the Second Pacific War. As the rest of the terrorists went into a back room to discuss the operation, Zero and Suzaku stepped down into the main theater near the stage. Zero disabled the shock collar around his neck, allowing him to speak freely for the first time since being taken from his maximum security cell under the government building.

"You're insane Zero! Releasing poison gas on all those civilians." Suzaku yelled at his liberator.

"Like how Britannia generously handed out free bullets to each and every citizen of Shinjuku? If my plan was to take an eye for an eye that canister wouldn't have been filled with harmless colored smoke. You don't always have to kill people for a weapon to have it's intended effect Suzaku. My real weapon tonight was fear and panic, not poison gas. And the result was not a single death on either side."

"The result? I guess that's all that matters to a terrorist like you."

"The most effective methods often involve a substantial dose of deception." Zero replied.

"So is it true what you said back there? Did you really kill Prince Clovis?" Suzaku asked his masked rescuer.

"Of course I did. That monster ordered the extermination of thousands on a whim, all because he let his little pet project get stolen. What's wrong private Kururugi, not even a single tear for the thousands of innocent Japanese civilians that Clovis murdered?"

"Clovis murdered nobody! The terrorists were using civilians as shields!" Suzaku shot back.

"Do you really believe that Suzaku? You got to sit in an infirmary with a bullet in your back while I personally saw entire families exterminated on the direct orders of Prince Clovis. There never was any poison gas Suzaku. You were there when the canister opened." Memories flooded back into Suzaku's mind. The truck, the gas canister, Lelouch, the girl in the straight jacket, it all came back in one mighty flash. "I suppose the old saying is still true today. 'One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.'"

"Regardless of what you believe Zero, your methods are still those of a terrorist, and nothing good can truly come about from them." Suzaku began to walk toward a large hole in the wall. "My court marshal begins in an hour, and only through the rule of law can justice be obtained. There is no justice in your underhanded chaos. I would try to bring you in but you or your allies would just kill me before I had the chance."

"You would really go back to face certain death for my actions? You are an idiot to believe that there is any justice in that, Kururugi."

"You know Zero, you just reminded me of an old friend. He always used to call me an idiot, and it usually paid to listen to him." Suzaku paused momentarily. "If you are the true assassin then the courts will find me innocent tonight."

"Will you not join me Suzaku? Has the vision of a free Japan truly faded so far in you that you would rather stand trial the courts of our oppressors? The only reason you are getting a trial is so that they can put on a show for the masses. Your fate has already been decided by those who wield the real power. That is they only truth they know."

"Your antics back on that bridge will most certainly provide enough evidence and doubt to clear my name Zero, and for that I thank you. However I do not agree with you. I will not join you and fight against Britannia. I believe that this nation can be changed for the better from within." Suzaku declared.

"Changed from within? Only the Emperor has the power to change Britannia. And only the Knights of Rounds have the power to exert any influence on the Emperor. Your quest is doomed to failure from the very beginning."

"If the Knights of Rounds are the only ones capable of bringing about a better future than that is what I shall become." Suzaku stated boldly. It was now very clear that Suzaku had no intention of joining him.

"We are very much alike Suzaku. Although are methods are radically different our ultimate objective is exactly the same, two roads to one destination. In that sense it matters little which one of us ultimately succeeds, because there shall be a better tomorrow regardless. Good luck at your trial Suzaku, because if they kill you then we will never get to play our grand game upon the biggest board in the world." Zero said as Suzaku walked toward the destroyed wall.

* * *

"Welcome home Lelouch." Lelouch walked into the room only to see the impossible. Sitting next to Nunnally at the table was somebody that was certainly dead. Green hair, straight jacket, same voice, there was no question that this was the girl from the capsule in Shinjuku. The one that took a bullet in the head before giving him the power of Geass. But there was no sign of the fatal injury. "Judging from your appearance and how late it is, I would guess you ate out tonight."

"Miss CC is so much fun brother, is she your girlfriend?" Nunnally asked him in her usual cheerful voice.

"We have a contract about our future together." CC replied.

"You're getting married Lelouch? You should have brought her over here sooner."

"She's not serious Nunnally."

"Yes I am."

Lelouch began to feel cornered. He needed a way out of this, fast. The Black Prince picked up a tea cup and dropped it on the floor, shattering it.

"Oh look what you've done CC, you're soaked, lets get you a change of clothes."Lelouch quickly said as he closed the distance to her. He grabbed CC by the arm and led her up to his room. Lelouch pushed her inside and locked the door behind him. He pulled the pistol concealed in the back of his pants and mashed the barrel into the tattoo on her forehead. "I want answers. Last time I checked people are supposed to die when they get shot in the head."

"If you want to scrub my brains out of your carpet that's fine by me Lelouch vi Britannia, all you will accomplish by shooting me is making a mess and a lot of noise." It took a moment, but Lelouch tended to agree with this. He really didn't feel like blowing a large hole in her head only to be yelled at for it later. He had already seen that she could somehow survive a gunshot to the head.. He put the gun away and looked CC in the eyes.

"I want answers, you immortal witch." As he stared at her with his left eye burning bright crimson she started laughing, to Lelouch's surprise.

"Do you like it? That power I gave you." CC asked him.

"You resisted it? How?"

"I gave it to you Lelouch, Geass has no effect upon the immortal you made a contract with." She explained.

"And what exactly is my end of this contract? You never told me in Shinjuku."

"You will find out only when the time is right. But now I'm curious, what exactly do you plan to do with it, the ability to command anyone?"

"Destroy the world and create a new one from the ashes." He replied.

"That's just too dark and vague to satisfy me, prince. I want some juicy details." CC replied as she sat down on his bed.

"And you believe you can force me to tell you every little detail?" CC smiled and began unzipping the straight jacket she was still wearing.

"I can be inhumanly persuasive when I want to be Lelouch. Although your mind may have other plans, I assure you that your body cannot say no to me."

"Save that for later, witch. I have preparations to make."

"Preparations for what?" She wondered.

"You really won't let up will you?"

"Not until you tell me what I want to know, or you sleep with me, after all, five years locked up in a lab is quite a long time." CC informed him as she unzipped the straight jacket's left leg.

"Ill tell you only if you swear to keep your mouth shut."

"I'm not some gossipy school girl Lelouch, after fourteen centuries of practice I know how to keep secrets."

"I was originally going to free Japan from imperial rule without this power. But with it, I can do so much more. I will free Japan, kill the Emperor, destroy Britannia, and create a peaceful world. One where my sister can finally be happy."

"Bold, daring, and incredibly ambitious. Sounds like you are going to be more fun than I could have ever hoped for. Why don't you let your scheming wait until tomorrow? I'm certain there are things you would rather be doing tonight instead."

Lelouch looked over at the green haired beauty sitting on his bed wearing nothing but a loose bra, white panties, and knee high white socks. Although he wouldn't openly admit it, she had been very accurate in her prediction. Up until now, Lelouch had maintained a strict policy of avoiding intimate relationships. There were just too many ways that they could go very wrong very fast. He just simply had too many secrets to allow someone else to get that close. But this was clearly a very different situation. The woman laying on his bed was unkillable, knew his real identity, and was wanted badly enough by Britannia for Clovis to order a genocide. Keeping her very close would actually be beneficial for once.

Lelouch felt himself succumbing to his desires for the first time as his mind rapidly discredited every reason he could think of to resist.

"I haven't figured it out yet." He said as he began to unbutton his uniform.

"Figured what out Lelouch?"

"Whether you are a blessing or a curse you unbelievably attractive witch."

"I thought you'd see it my way, your highness." CC warmly replied.

* * *

Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald's reputation was in tatters after the Orange incident on the bridge with Zero. His actions could have been considered borderline treason, yet he got away with it due to Area 11's lack of a current Viceroy. Because the Purist faction controlled the military in Area 11, and Jeremiah was himself the leader of the Purist faction there were no direct consequences. Indirectly however, his position had been greatly weakened. Once a man that the members of the Purist faction looked up to and admired, the faction's upper echelon were now plotting his untimely demise. The trap had been set, all that was needed now was some fresh, juicy bait.

Jeremiah's headset received an incoming transmission. "Lord Jeremiah, Zero has been sighted in Shinjuku near the old stadium in sector four. Lord Kewell ordered me to contact you at once. Probably figured you'd never forgive him if he killed Zero himself and denied you a chance to redeem yourself."

"Deploy first and third squads and contain the area around the stadium, do not give Zero an opening to escape!" Jeremiah quickly ordered.

"Understood Sir." The communications officer switched the channel. "Lord Kewell, the ball's in your court now." He turned off the console and reclined the chair. Seconds later he found himself at the mercy of a cutlass wielding Viletta Nu, who had her sword's cold tip pressed against the side of his neck.

"I was going to ask to be put through to Lord Jeremiah, but it appears that you traitors are a bit too busy setting up his assassination to do that for me." Viletta applied considerable force to the sword and it effortlessly sliced into the comms officer's neck with bloody results. The second comms officer tried to get out of his chair and run, but Viletta was much faster. She delivered a low swipe of her cutlass to the fleeing man, slicing deep into his hamstrings and forcing him to the ground. She ignored his cries of pain as she advanced on him. "You traitors do not deserve such a clean death, but I'm pressed for time at the moment." Viletta raised her cutlass into the air and brought it down in a whistling slash, decapitating her target. She quickly left the room, still carrying her bloody sword, toward the knightmare bay leaving behind two corpses and a large pool of warm blood. She quickly jumped into her Sutherland and raced off toward the coordinates that she overheard the traitors give Jeremiah.

* * *

At the exact same moment as Viletta was butchering traitorous comms officers on the other side of the city, Lelouch received a message from a Geassed informant in the Britannian military, informing him of Jeremiah's impending assassination at the hands of Kewell and his subordinates. He accessed the quick dial on his phone and called Kallen.

"Where are you Kallen?"

"At our hideout with Ougi and the others. You sound serious, something happening?"

"Prep a Sutherland and your Glasgow for combat, I'll brief you when I get there." He hung up and quickly dialed another number. "Rivalz I need to borrow your bike for the night."

"Why? Whats up Lelouch?" Rivalz wondered.

"I'm going gambling, somewhere dangerous again. It would be best if I went alone." Rivalz thought for a second about protesting, but the tone of Lelouch's voice sounded quite serious. From what he was told about Lelouch's supposed experience at Shinjuku, he decided not to argue.

"Alright, but make sure you have it back by morning."

* * *

Back in their warehouse hideout, Kallen was finalizing the preparations on the knightmares Lelouch requested. The seventeen remaining Sutherlands had been dyed a distinctive shade of black to help mitigate the risk of friendly fire. Kallen's Glasgow had been repaired and upgraded with spare parts from one of the disabled Sutherlands. No longer missing an arm, it now had a second slash harken installed along with some components of the Sutherland's enhanced armor package. The worn red paint scheme was updated to a fresh coat of blood red. She loaded out both units with KAR 25 assault weapons, and finished topping off their energy fillers just as Lelouch arrived in his Zero outfit.

"Zero I've finished prepping the knightmares but what exactly are we doing?" Kallen asked her commander.

"There's no time, get moving and I'll tell you on the way." Zero ordered with urgency.

* * *

Jeremiah raced his Sutherland through the Shinjuku Ghetto toward the stadium, hellbent on obtaining revenge and clearing his name. As he entered the destroyed stadium he saw no trace of Zero. Instead he found himself staring down four Sutherlands lined up on the other side of the field, silver anti armor lances shining in the evening sunlight.

"Lord Kewell, wheres Zero?" Jeremiah asked. The four Sutherlands immediately moved to surround him.

"Hell if I know, Orange. You are a disgrace to the Purists, helping an Eleven terrorist escape with his highness's murderer. We need to clean up our act before Princess Cornelia arrives to take over Area 11, or we won't have any future." Kewell replied coldly.

"So Zero was never here? This was all just an underhanded trap?" Jeremiah began as he started to feel enraged at being tricked in such a way.

"More or less, Gottwald." All four Sutherland's raised their weapons. "Don't worry Jeremiah, you will get the honorable death in battle any good warrior desires." Kewell replied.

"You really intend to kill me Kewell? You traitorous scum!" Jeremiah charged at Kewell, firing his assault rifle all the way. 25 mm tracer rounds lanced across the stadium at Kewell, who managed to dodge most of them. Jeremiah's aim was immediately thrown off as he moved to evade the multi directional assault of Kewell's three allies. He turned and fired his slash harkens at the enemy Sutherland on his 9:00. He fired his own harkens to block Jeremiah's. Jeremiah had barely half a second to react as a stream of 25 mm high explosive rounds erupted from his left. He tried to dodge but took several hits, blowing large chunks of armor off of his left arm. Another Sutherland opened fire directly in front of him. Gottwald brought up his unit's lance as a shield against the incoming fire. The torrent of armor piercing high explosive rounds impacted the lance, severely disfiguring it.

Jeremiah didn't even attempt to evade as he returned fire, his own HE AP rounds impacting the enemy Sutherland's weapon and detonating the magazine. The explosion tore off the unit's left arm and damaged both it's left leg and head mounted factsphere. The Sutherland staggered under the damage just as another fired a burst from Jeremiah's left, destroying his left arm. He immediately dropped the damaged lance and pulled the assault rifle from the remnants of his unit's left arm. Only then did he realize that the enemy units had repositioned to his 12, 3, 6, and 9:00 positions, their lances lowered and ready to strike.

"I've had enough of this game Jeremiah. All hail Britannia!" All four units charged forward. Certain of their victory, the Purists all tunnel visioned on Jeremiah's surrounded unit.

Dual streams of 25 mm tracer fire rained down from the upper level of the stadium, tearing into the unsuspecting Purists below. The Sutherlands on Jeremiah's 6:00 and 3:00 exploded under the deadly accurate fire. All three of them looked up toward the source of the fire and saw a black Sutherland and a heavily modified red Glasgow with smoke pouring out of their assault rifles' barrels. An open channel transmission appeared from the black Sutherland. To their shock and complete surprise, Zero's mask appeared on their screens.

"Lord Kewell, how rude of you to use me as your bait to isolate Jeremiah."

"Zero! What the hell are you doing here? It was just as you said, we said you were here to draw Jeremiah out, we never in a million years would have expected you to actually be here!"

"Your transmissions were easy enough to listen in on. I will not allow you to kill Jeremiah Gottwald, Kewell." Zero informed them.

"You're helping me Zero? Why? After so completely destroying my career barely a day ago you would help me defeat my assassins?" Jeremiah asked over the open channel, astonished at what he was hearing.

"In truth, Jeremiah, The only reason I made you out to be a traitor during my rescue of Suzaku was because you happened to be the man leading the precession. Don't take it personally. As for why I'm helping you, your death would be rather problematic for my plans." Zero revealed.

"So you would save me from these traitors just to make me your pawn?"

"Never underestimate the potential of a pawn." Zero countered.

* * *

Viletta Nu pushed the limit of her Sutherland's speed as she tried to reach Lord Jeremiah's position in time to save him. She rounded the last corner onto the street that led directly to the stadium and redlined the acceleration. Viletta's Sutherland burst through the south entrance of the stadium and could not believe her eyes. In the stadium a Purist Sutherland, a black Sutherland, and a red Glasgow were fighting two other Purist Sutherlands, with the burning wrecks of two others nearby.

"Lord Jeremiah!"

"Viletta, always nice to have more reinforcements." Jeremiah welcomed her to the arena. Viletta could not fire her rifle at the enemy knightmares engaged with Jeremiah and his unknown allies at point blank melee range. She watched as the red Glasgow picked up a fallen lance from one of the destroyed Sutherlands and charged forward. The red Glasgow fired it's slash harkens into the nearby stadium wall and pulled itself just out of the path of a charging Purist Sutherland, avoiding its lance thrust by less than a meter. It quickly reversed the move and drove it's own lance through the side of the Sutherland's cockpit. With the blood covered lance penetrating out the other side of the cockpit block the unit collapsed without a pilot to control it.

Jeremiah opened fire upon the last remaining enemy Sutherland, Lord Kewell's. His three allies joined in, quad streams of hot lead converging upon Kewell. His Sutherland disintegrated under the barrage and shortly after the wreckage exploded. Jeremiah redirected his unit's assault rifle to the black Sutherland.

"Do you really intend to shoot the man who just saved your life, Jeremiah?" Zero's voice burst forth from everyone's speakers.

"Is that Zero in that Sutherland?" Viletta asked in a state of complete confusion as she had just watched the black and red knightmares save him.

"I'm just as confused as you are Viletta. I don't have a clue why he just saved me of all people." Zero lowered his weapons and slowly moved his Sutherland forward until it nearly touched the front of Jeremiah's. The black Sutherland's cockpit opened and Zero stood above his unit. Jeremiah hesitated for a few seconds before doing the same. For the second time in as many days he stood face to face with the masked man Zero.

"Lord Jeremiah Gottwald, if you had to choose only one, who would you serve? Britannia as it is today, or Lady Marianne?" Zero questioned him.

"What do you hope to accomplish by bringing up the ghosts of my past, Zero?"

"It was a simple question, and I only require a simple answer."

"Fine Zero, I would gladly serve Lady Marianne over the empire as it is today, in all its corruption." Both Viletta and Kallen looked on in silence, unable to hear their conversation as it was not being broadcast over the radio.

"Since Lady Marianne is no longer with us Jeremiah, Would you be willing to serve me instead?" Zero reached up and touched the back of his mask. The scales in the back retracted as he removed the helmet.

"Who are you, Zero?"

"Do you not remember the last time we played chess together? The time you bet half of your pay upon a single game. Precisely two days before my mother was murdered." Jeremiah's eyes went wide and his body froze up. He remembered that day exceptionally well. He had challenged ten year old Prince Lelouch vi Britannia to a game of chess and bet half his salary on it. Lelouch tore him apart as starving sharks would tear through a whale's carcass. He was so completely defeated in eleven moves that he never touched a chess board ever again, in front of no less than thirty nobles. He was not just defeated that day, he was destroyed and humiliated in a way that he had not felt again until he met Zero atop the fake Clovis Mobile.

"...Lelouch?" Jeremiah managed to stutter out in his state of absolute shock.

"So you do remember me Jeremiah."

"I thought you and Princess Nunnally died in the invasion seven years ago."

"We did Jeremiah. Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia are dead ghosts of the past. Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge replaced them after the invasion. Once again I ask you Jeremiah Gottwald, will you join me?" Zero repeated.

"I would gladly serve you, your highness! What would you ask of me?"

"I would ask that you join me in my great mission, Jeremiah."

"What is your mission, my lord?" Jeremiah asked.

"To kill my father and destroy his empire."


	4. Revolutionary Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Lelouch opened his eyes to gaze upon an ocean of green. It took him about half a second to realize that it was a large blob of CC's hair between his eyes and the sunlight shining through the window. She was still sleeping, roughly on top of him. He didn't even attempt to move from that position. Her body was warm and soft, her hair smelled sweet, and steady breathing against his shoulder, it all added up to what for Lelouch was a true first. A simple pleasure that required no action, no thought, no meticulous analysis or planning, a black and white contrast to what he considered normally enjoyable. All he had to do was lay there and enjoy.

"You've been awake for nearly 20 minutes and you haven't even moved Lelouch. Did I really wear you out that much? Or perhaps you want some more?" CC said in a deliberately seductive tone.

"It's not that. Honestly, I really enjoy the sleeping part of sleeping with you. It's just so comforting and easy. I don't have to read force deployments, analyze personalities, create a perfect grand strategy to enjoy what we're doing right now." Lelouch admitted.

"We aren't doing anything Lelouch." CC observed.

"Exactly my point."

"So, what kind of insane schemes do you plan on carrying out today?" CC asked with genuine interest.

"Another miracle." Lelouch replied as if miracles were a routine occurance.

"Which would be?"

"I now have two different allies, CC. The real challenge is figuring out how to get Japanese terrorists to work with a man who was once Area 11's personification of Britannia's superiority complex."

"Sounds hard Lelouch."

"Harder than collecting stickers from pizza boxes."

"I work hard to eat all of that delicious pizza!" CC shot back.

"Seeing as how you pay for it with my money I would certainly appreciate it if you would share some time."

"It's not my fault that pizza is more addictive than cocaine."

"Judging by the way you said that I would assume you have enough experience with both to accurately determine which is more addictive."

"And what if I do?"

"As long as you don't go buying cocaine with my money too." CC chuckled at him. "As much as I love having you on top of me, could you please get off? I have an empire to destroy."

* * *

The midday sun lit the burning hot desert in front of the final line of defense on the Arabian Peninsula. Just about a mile in front of a magnificent desert palace stood a formation of Arabia's own incarnation of the knightmare frame. More like a cross between a G1 mobile base and a knightmare, the Britannians called the units Camels because of their distinctive hump shaped top. In practice the units were little more than oversized sakuradite powered tanks. The Camels' primary weapon, a 255mm heavy cannon, was so big and heavy that it had to be mounted directly onto the body without a turret. Secondary armaments consisted of lighter 40mm autocannons and top mounted rocket packs. Camels provided the defenders with a powerful, heavily armored, although relatively immobile unit to hold their lines with.

In stark contrast to the bulky Arabian Camels, the invading Britannian forces were comprised mainly of the Panther heavy tank and Badger IFV. Highly mobile units sharing the same basic hull design, they had the unique feature of being able to change their mobility system between conventional tracks and a six wheeled configuration, making them easily adaptable to any environment. The Panther's weapons systems comprised a 130mm main cannon, coaxial 12.7mm heavy machine gun, and an optional remotely controlled 20mm autocannon mounted on the turret. These units had the advantage of being much cheaper to produce than a knightmare frame, while being more durable, and still maintaining a potent combination of mobility and firepower.

The Arabian defenders looked out over the desert before them to see a gigantic cloud of sand moving straight at them. The general consensus among their ranks was that it was another sandstorm. They only realized what was really happening when they noticed that sandstorms aren't supposed to fire 130mm HEAT rounds at them.

Nearly 100 Panther tanks moved across the desert in two rows at high speed, kicking up the massive cloud of sand behind them. As the Panthers advanced upon them, the Camels opened fire with everything they had. Outnumbered five to one against the formations of Britannian tanks, their odds seemed slim to begin with. Ten purple Gloucester frames then surged forth from behind the lines, weaving their way between the tanks. All ten of them were loaded out with a 125mm recoilless rifle, the heaviest mass production knightmare weapon available. Capable of firing a variety of ammunition types, these weapons provided the Gloucesters with firepower on par with a Panther tank, with nearly four times the mobility.

The 40mm autocannons mounted on the Camels opened fire as the knightmares approached them, kicking up large splashes of sand as the knightmares used their absolute speed and agility advantages to dodge the incoming rounds. Three of the Gloucesters closed on the lead Camel in their wedge formation and raised their 125mm weapons against the lightly armored underside of the units. Armor piercing shells easily punched through the thin armor, their timed delay fuses allowing them to detonate inside the oversized units. One of the shells punctured the main cannon's magazine and detonated among the stored shells. The Gloucesters barely cleared the blast radius as the entire Camel exploded, sending hot fragments out in all directions as if it were a giant fragmentation grenade. One of the three Gloucester pilots, General Darlton, looked over to his left and saw another enemy Camel explode in similar fashion. Although the Camels were some of the most heavily armored units in the world, the combined firepower of the 83 remaining Panther tanks proved too much for them. One by one the Camels began to fall as lines of Britannian heavy armor rolled down the sand dunes toward them. The unstoppable force had moved the immovable object.

Nearly one mile south of the main battle a single royal purple Gloucester approached the palace from the west, bypassing the primary defenses. The palace itself was defended with nothing but infantry units equipped with assault rifles and Russian designed RPG anti armor weapons. Although developed nearly 70 years earlier, long before the concept of the knightmare frame had ever been thought of, the basic RPG still proved somewhat effective if enough of them could be landed on target. The purple Gloucester charged forward with a large golden lance in its right hand and a KAR 25 assault weapon in its left. The unit's elegant cape fluttered behind it as accelerated toward the enemy defenses. The defenders felt the icy grip of fear as they identified the incoming knightmare. The approaching unit perfectly matched the description of Second Princess Cornelia's personal Gloucester. One of the most feared people in the world, Cornelia's absolute hatred of anyone and anything that opposed her had earned her a place among history's most successful warriors in her own lifetime. And now these poor conscripts could do nothing but pray for divine intervention as the Goddess of Victory came within weapons range.

A torrential rain of assault rifle fire flooded down from the walls, pinging off of her armor. Cornelia returned fire with her knightmare's assault weapon, 25mm high explosive rounds tearing into exposed infantry at the west gate. A single soldier was brave enough to stand among the shower of blood and limbs to fire an RPG at Cornelia. She launched a slash harken to intercept the missile mid flight, and then the second harken to bisect the man who fired it. Immediately after both anchors returned to their positions she aimed high and fired again, this time into the dome above the main wall. She pulled the Gloucester up onto the walls and proceeded to extinguish all opposition, the golden lance ripping through the helpless infantry.

Just as she was about to leave the rampart of dismembered corpses behind, a bullet pinged against her cockpit. Cornelia turned to see a man holding a pistol in his left hand, blood pouring out of the cavity where his right arm was once attached. The man kept firing until his magazine ran dry as Cornelia's knightmare slowly approached him. Cornelia grabbed her personal sidearm, a 26 inch long combination of sword and gun, and charged the slide, loading a .50 caliber round into the chamber. She opened her cockpit and ejected her seat out of the armored hull, the man below still trying to reload his blood covered pistol with one hand. The Goddess drew her weapon and aimed it at the man in one fluid motion. She made eye contact a second before pulling the trigger, sending a .50 caliber explosive round into the man's head. His head exploded in a red storm of blood, brains, and skull fragments as Cornelia moved her seat back to its original position.

She blasted a hole in the side of the dome and jumped inside the palace. Inside was a very large cache of weapons, ammunition, and fuel guarded by more infantry. As the infantry opened fire with their rifles she just ignored them and fired a burst of 25mm HE rounds into the fuel tanks, causing a chain reaction that set off all of the ordinance in the building. The massive explosion's shockwave slammed into the Gloucester, nearly knocking it over. As she rolled out of the palace inferno she looked north and saw a series of explosions as the remaining Camels withered and exploded under the weight of Britannian firepower. Just as Cornelia came to the top of the closest sand dune her cockpit's internal speakers activated.

"Another day, and another glorious victory, your highness." General Darlton, leader of the Gloucester unit, greeted her.

"Indeed Darlton, with the last of their resistance shattered, Area 18 can now be established."

"What of our next assignment, my lady?" General Darlton asked.

"I apologize for having you men clean up after my brother's mess in Area 11."

"Don't apologize, your highness. We live to serve, and our place is at your side upon any battlefield you choose." Her first knight, Guilford replied.

"Do you think Area 11 requires a dose of our usual treatment?"

"Why don't we give them an overdose they will never forget, my lady." Cornelia laughed over the channel.

"I like the way you think Darlton, when in doubt, excessive force is usually a viable solution."

* * *

A black car cruised through the light evening traffic over the southern bridge that led out of the main city.

"Where are we going, Jeremiah? You said it was important but never told me anything else." Viletta Nu asked as she looked over at her driver.

"When Zero spoke to me in that stadium, he informed me that some dear old friends of mine who I had believed to have died in the invasion seven years ago are in fact alive, and living in Tokyo. I think you would like to meet them, Viletta." Jeremiah pulled into an open gate through a stone wall. They passed under a banner indicating that this was the main gate of Ashford Academy.

"Ashford Academy? Your friends are the Ashfords?" She wondered.

"Not exactly, they are friends of the Ashfords, and they live here in the house above their ballroom." Viletta and Jeremiah walked up the walkway and into the main ballroom. They crossed the room and ascended the stairs at the back. They saw light coming through the door at the end of the hallway. As they approached the door it slid open, revealing a prepared dining room with one person sitting at the head of the table.

"Jeremiah, Viletta, thank you for coming." They were greeted by a boy wearing an ordinary academy uniform.

"It has been far too long, your highness." Viletta turned to Jeremiah with a curious mask on.

"It's been seven years since I've seen you outside of a knightmare Jeremiah, up for a game of chess? I'm sure you would like a chance at some payback for all that humiliation I gave you all those years ago."

"Actually, your highness, I have not played a game of chess since you defeated me that day." Jeremiah admitted.

"Lord Jeremiah, why are you addressing this man as if he were royalty?" Viletta questioned her superior officer.

"How rude of me to not introduce myself. My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, former eleventh prince of the Empire. Or rather my name was Lelouch vi Britannia, I go by Lelouch Lamperouge now." The boy introduced himself.

"Is this some kind of joke? Lelouch vi Britannia died in the invasion seven years ago."

"Correct, Viletta Nu, the eleventh prince did die seven years ago. I personally made sure of that. However, Lady Marianne's son did not."

"So you faked your own death? Why?" Viletta caught on.

"Perceptive of you, Viletta. Yes, I personally engineered the death of my former identity in order to escape the Empire's assassins. I made many powerful friends here in Japan before the invasion. Among them was Kyoshiro Todou, the man that defeated Britannia at Itsukushima. With his help I managed to survive the OSI assassination squads that were sent here for my head." He explained.

"This would all be a bit more believable if there was a reason that the Emperor would send the OSI to kill his own son."

"Lady Marianne's death was no random act of terrorism. Jeremiah can confirm that her royal guard, which he was a part of at the time, were reduced to a bare minimum just hours before the attack. Clearly someone with enough power to give such an order wanted my mother dead, and the Emperor did absolutely nothing to stop it, or investigate it. I was exiled shortly after I confronted him about it, since I was one of the few that would'nt let it go."

"Marianne's assassination was an inside job?" Viletta was intrigued by what Lelouch was saying. She had met Jeremiah only two months before the assassination and had seen with her own eyes how hard of a blow it was to him.

"None of her known enemies actually had the power to reassign her royal guard. Given the Emperor's unwillingness to even care about her death, the only logical conclusion is that it was his idea to begin with."

"So you blame Britannia for your mother's assassination?" Viletta was starting to feel worried about where this conversation was going. Before Lelouch could say anything there came two knocks at the door, and it slid open. Kallen walked into the room and almost choked when she saw Viletta and Jeremiah at the table. Doing her best to keep up the innocent act, she pretended to not know who they were.

"Umm, Lelouch, what is the military doing here?" Kallen asked, trying to maintain her fragile and innocent cover despite the huge surge of adrenaline in her system. It took a lot of willpower for her to keep her hand away from the pouch with her hidden blade.

"Relax Kallen. Jeremiah is with us now, and I was just in the process of converting our friend Viletta." Lelouch informed her.

"So they know?" She asked hesitantly, not wanting to give away anything.

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you two." Kallen said with a hint of caution.

"Well you certainly have a taste for fine women, your highness." Jeremiah commented. Kallen's face began to redden.

"Allow me to introduce the world's greatest red Glasgow pilot, Kallen Kouzuki." Lelouch said with a grin, knowing how Jeremiah was likely to feel after his defeat in Shinjuku.

"Are you telling me that cute girl over there was in that red Glasgow we kept running into?" He asked with astonishment as he turned to look at her. Lelouch nodded in response.

"So which one were you Jeremiah? The Sutherland that got stuck on the front of the train, or the one that tried to jump on it?" Lelouch asked him. Before he could ask what he was talking about, images of Shinjuku flooded back into his mind. He quickly remembered the red Glasgow, the train, ordering a subordinate to pursue the Glasgow, and then the ambush from the nearby building.

"...The one in front of the train, but how do you know about that?" Jeremiah asked cautiously.

"Don't you remember asking me what unit I was from? I'm sure you remember me shooting your Sutherland to pieces."

"You were the one in the building?"

"Indeed."

"Mind telling me how you got a hold of a Sutherland, your highness?" Lelouch shifted his eyes toward Viletta.

"Your friend was feeling rather generous in that warehouse."

"You were the student in the warehouse with the dead royal guardsmen?" Viletta asked with a hint of dread.

"You certainly fell for my Alan Spacer trick."

"I saw a student standing there and then the next thing I remember I was standing in the warehouse, my Sutherland stolen. How did you do that?" She asked, still amazed at the course of events.

"Orange."

"That secret project you mentioned on the bridge?" Kallen asked him.

"What exactly is Orange, your highness?"

"Clovis' research into the powers of immortality and mind control." Lelouch revealed.

"Mind control?"

"Clovis never did do a good job of making the immortal he captured share the secrets of her powers." Lelouch looked at Kallen. "That capsule you stole was not poison gas, Kallen. It was the immortal's prison cell. He ordered the annihilation of Shinjuku to prevent her from escaping."

"So Clovis captured an immortal girl with the power of mind control? Did you slip some LSD into my cup of tea, Lelouch?" Viletta asked, clearly in disbelief of what she was hearing.

"She could not control people herself, only give the power to others. And when we were trapped in that warehouse staring down 15 gun barrels with no way out, she gave me one."

"This immortal gave you some kind of mind control power?"

"She touched me and a bright light flashed before my eyes. When I opened them again I had a real weapon." Lelouch flared the Geass in his left eye as bright as he could make it, aware that all three of the people in the room were immune. They all became fixated on his glowing red eye.

"That is the manifestation of his Geass, the power of Absolute Obedience, the power to force anyone to do anything." Everyone's heads turned to see CC walk into the room. She walked up behind Lelouch and reached into his pocket, withdrawing his credit card. CC's talk of Absolute Obedience had produced an atmosphere of Absolute Confusion from everyone other than Lelouch.

"OK, OK, slow the hell down Lelouch! Who is she? And what is wrong with your eye?" Kallen asked with a hint of aggression. She was clearly frustrated by the ever growing heap of questions and not enough answers to go around.

"Very well, I have nothing to gain by hiding my power from those I wish to be my allies. When a person makes direct eye contact to my glowing left eye I can issue them one irresistible command. In effect I can make them do anything I want them to, even kill themselves, as was the case for those royal guardsmen."

"Let me get this straight, your highness. You are telling us that you have a mystical power that allows you to control anyone that you can make direct eye contact with?"

"That is a fairly accurate description, Jeremiah."

" And how exactly are you going to prove this power exists, Lelouch?" Viletta asked him.

"I already have proven it, to all of you." Lelouch revealed with a grin.

"What do you mean, you've proven it?" Kallen's voice contained a hint of fear, wondering at what he could have made her do. Lelouch pointed at Viletta.

"I used my Geass to steal your Sutherland in Shinjuku, which I then used to save Kallen from Jeremiah on the rail line.. I have determined through careful experimentation that Geass disrupts normal brain activity, resulting in permanent memory loss for the time a person is under its influence."

"So that's why I don't remember anything about what happened in that warehouse!"

"You said all of us, right Lelouch? If you used it on those two, did you do it to me as well?"

"Yes, Kallen, I used my Geass on you the day before our little chat in the shower."

"What did you make me do, Lelouch?" The anger in her voice could have made bullets run scared.

"I asked you a few questions. You told me that you were the Glasgow pilot, your real name, and why you became a terrorist. Actually, now that I think about it, you taught me the greatest limitation of my power, It only works once. Do you recall getting angry when I told you not to mention Shinjuku?"

"You're right, I do remember that." Kallen recalled, rapidly calming down as his story fit what she remembered.

"Do you also remember how shocked I looked? Up until that point everyone that I had used my Geass on was either dead or I never saw them again. I did not know that I could not use it more than once on a single person."

"What about me, your highness? Did you use that power on me as well?" Jeremiah asked.

"How else could I have stared down eight knightmares on a live international broadcast and walk away alive? I ordered you to do everything in your power to help us escape with Kururugi, and judging from the fact that we escaped, you certainly performed a wonderful rear guard action." Kallen smirked, Jeremiah gasped, and Viletta appeared as if she was about to explode.

"You're Zero, aren't you?" Lelouch reached down to a suitcase on the side of the table and produced his mask. He planted it on the table, facing them, and crossed his arms over it. As CC walked back into the room carrying an assault rifle, Viletta became visibly afraid. She was unarmed in the presence of Zero and three of his allies. "You killed Prince Clovis, Zero. Why?"

"Because thousands of innocent civilians died upon his direct orders. The man was nothing more than a manifestation of Britannian corruption." Lelouch told her, his voice colder than before.

"But he was your brother, wasn't he? How could you kill your own brother?"

"Eight thousand, three hundred, and twenty seven people were murdered that day. The dead cried out for justice, and I answered them. When you hate somebody enough, killing them becomes as effortless as squeezing the trigger."

"You're going to kill me now, aren't you, Zero?" Viletta felt as if she was suffocating, the fear of impending death gripped her as she realized that she was all alone in a room full of terrorists, with no way out.

"I'd prefer not to, Viletta. I would much rather have you join me." Lelouch said, to her surprise.

"Join the most wanted terrorist in the Empire?"

"I'm not a terrorist. Terrorists kill people as a way of lashing out against those who have absolute power over them. It is nothing more than a minor annoyance. I am a revolutionary, Viletta." He explained.

"What exactly do you plan to do then, Zero? Wipe Britannia off the map?"

"My immediate objective is the destruction of Area 11, and the resurrection of a free Japan."

"No Area has ever broken free of Britannian rule, Zero, what makes you think you can succeed where all others have failed."

"I can succeed, Viletta, because nobody has ever truly tried before. All they have ever done is commit useless acts of terrorism that cause no real damage. " Lelouch countered.

"What do you mean? There are resistance groups in virtually every Area."

"Resistance groups, Viletta. How many of them have actually declared war upon the Holy Britannian Empire? What you call resistance groups are nothing more than weak, disorganized terrorist cells. I shall create it from the ground up, an army that can defeat Britannia! If I could defeat a Britannian army with nothing more than a band of terrorists and 26 stolen Sutherlands, with my own army I can bring the Empire to its knees."

"Supposing you do manage to defeat the greatest empire in human history, what then? What do you hope to accomplish by doing so?"

"I will kill the Emperor, free the Areas, and build a new Britannia from the ashes, a true force for good in the world." Sitting across from Lelouch, Kallen was on the verge of tears. She was struggling to keep her pride from overflowing. Everything that Lelouch was saying felt so right, so grand to her. She wanted nothing more in the world than to be a part of his revolution.

"Lelouch, I will gladly help you burn away this Britannian darkness, so that the world can once again see rising sun break free of it's prison." Lelouch looked toward Jeremiah.

"And you Jeremiah Gottwald?"

"I failed in my duty to protect Lady Marianne, I shall not fail her only son." All eyes turned to Viletta Nu, the greatest battle in all history raging inside her soul. Jeremiah reached over and put an arm around her.

"Please, help us create a better world with a better future." Tears flowed down her face, dripping onto her thighs. "We have fought side by side for seven years, Viletta. Could you really fight against me?"

"If you need some additional encouragement, may I remind you that your fingerprints are on the pistol I used to put a bullet through Clovis's head." Lelouch sarcastically informed her. Kallen put her hand on Viletta's shoulder.

"Just by being here you are an accessory to treason. Whether you like it or not, the only future you have is with us, Viletta." Lelouch walked over and extended his hand.

"Viletta Nu, will you fight for the greater good of the world? Will you help us seize the reins of destiny?" Viletta shakily reached out her right arm and took Lelouch's hand.

* * *

In the center of Tokyo atop the main government building, the heart of Britannian power in Area 11, dozens of soldiers and officials stood at attention. A large jet aircraft, a heavy Albatross transport, approached from the west. As the transport approached the government building, its heavy thrusters swiveled downward as it prepared to perform a vertical landing. Jetwash blasted over the arranged officials near the landing pad, their clothes and capes blowing in the high speed winds. When the transport landed, and its engines died out, a door slid open and a flight of stairs emerged. Down came ten men, dressed in fine white pants with dark red coats. Then lined up against the side of the transport. At the top of the stairs appeared Cornelia li Britannia. Dressed in her distinctive dark purple uniform with an elegant white cloak flowing down from her shoulders. Her custom sidearm hanging from her belt completed her stunning appearance. She walked down the stairs and stood in front of the row of assembled personnel.

"Welcome to Area 11, sister." Euphemia greeted her.

"You will address me as Viceroy, Sub Viceroy Euphemia. Because we are sisters we must maintain a higher standard."

"I understand, Viceroy." Cornelia turned to a finely dressed man who she identified as the temporary ruler of Area 11.

"Now then, give me your report." She ordered him.

"Our first order of business is a welcoming party we have arranged for your highness, and-" The man froze as Cornelia drew her signature weapon and aimed it square at his face.

"Sloppy, Senile, Corrupt. You would rather spend your time arranging meaningless parties while the murderer of Prince Clovis still roams free? Would you like me to show you what your brain looks like so you can ascertain what the hell is wrong with it?" The man appeared as if he was about to wet himself. Having one of the deadliest people in the world aiming a gun at him from less than three meters was enough to make him visibly shake with fear.

"Tell me, where is Zero?" Cornelia asked him too calmly.

"I...do not know, your highness." He replied with fear in his voice.

"That man murdered a prince, and you have not devoted every effort to finding him? I feel tempted to execute you for aiding that regicidal traitor." Cornelia began to lower her weapon and the man breathed a sigh of relief, until he realized at the last second what she was doing. She lowered the barrel of her oversized hand cannon from his face to his left knee. Euphemia knew to back up to avoid the blood spray, having seen her sister do the same thing before.

"No, please!" He yelled at her deaf ears. Cornelia pulled the trigger, and a .50 caliber high explosive round left the barrel. The bullet penetrated the man's knee and exploded inside his leg, bisecting it with a large spray of blood. Cornelia ignored his screams of pain and turned to the other men who were lined up. It was now clear to all in attendance that Cornelia had no liking or patience for the luxuries that had been demanded by Clovis. She was not an actor, or a party lover, she was a soldier first and everything else second.

"Find Zero! I want the enemy of the Empire caught!"


	5. Of all the Brazen Audacity

Disclaimer: I do not Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

Warning: Longest chapter yet. I tried but ultimately failed to break Saitama and Kawaguchi into separate entries.

* * *

Britannian heavy armor rolled up to the base of the mountain from all directions, cutting off any possible escape routes. Concealed doors on the south side of the mountain slid open, revealing railways that lead inside. From inside the mountain came railway vehicles armed with turret mounted twin 105mm cannons. Concealable static defenses. The formation of Britannian Panther tanks directly opposite them elevated their cannons and began exchanging fire with the Japanese mountain fortress' fixed defenses. Behind the lines inside the G1 mobile base, Intel officers were hard at work determining the level of resistance on the mountain.

"Sir we have successfully determined the enemy's positions and external defensive strength. The mountain has been turned into a fortress, with 63 defensive gun emplacements on the southern slope. Scans suggest that the rails they were deployed on also lead into the main base inside the mountain."

"Good job lieutenant, now get that information to the Viceroy." General Andreas Darlton commanded from his post in the G1.

On the other side of the mountain, away from the battle, Cornelia moved to replicate the same maneuver she had used with great success in what was now Area 18. She took a wide path around the mountain and went up its north slope. As the lower tiers of stationary guns were being hammered by the heavy armor in the valley below, Cornelia came over the peak and attacked the enemy from behind. Her Gloucester sped down the mountain as she acquired targets. Three turrets turned around and raised their cannons to maximum elevation as they attempted to engage her. The crews inside were inexperienced and slow to react. She preemptively moved to dodge the incoming rounds before returning fire on the nearest turret with her 25mm weapon. As the rounds tore into the turret's light armor, she fired both of her slash harkens simultaneously at the other two emplacements. All three were destroyed without landing a single hit. As other turrets turned to engage her the tanks below took the advantage. Their precision cannon fire knocked out multiple emplacements with ease as Cornelia landed her Gloucester on the tracks behind a destroyed turret.

"This entrance will take me into their main base, correct?"

"Yes your highness, Shall we accompany you into their stronghold?" General Darlton asked her.

"No need Darlton, not for this pathetic level of resistance."

"Understood, your highness."

Cornelia drove her knightmare down the railway until she came to a large circular room full of enemy infantry. On her left was a single enemy knightmare, a Burai, a Japanese built update of the Glasgow. Ignoring the infantry that were now raining a storm of small arms fire on her unit, she raised her lance and charged the enemy knightmare. The unarmed Burai attempted to defend itself with its single slash harken, but Cornelia blocked it with her lance before smashing the enemy unit into the nearby wall. She drove the golden lance through the unit's cockpit block, killing the pilot instantly.

"If you Elevens get on your knees and beg me for mercy, I might be willing to let you live." Cornelia announced through her unit's speakers. Their reply was a chorus of 'death to Britannia' as they continued to fire their rifles at her with renewed vigor. Cornelia raised her Gloucester's left arm that held her 25mm assault weapon and opened fire at close range on the tightly packed enemy infantry. Explosive rounds shattered bodies and severed limbs as she systematically killed all who opposed her. When the firing stopped, Viceroy Cornelia was the only living being remaining in the mountain. She returned outside to find that their heavy armor and Shortsword gunship support had neutralized all resistance on the exterior of the fortress. Several formations of Shortsword gunships patrolled the surrounding area, looking for escaping survivors with their nose mounted 30mm autocannon's helmet guided thermal optics. She could see several streaks of golden light as the distant gunships fired 30mm tracer rounds at the scattered survivors of the battle.

"Viceroy, all known enemy forces have been eliminated per your orders."Darlton replied from his post on the G1.

"Excellent job, Darlton. What would you like for dinner tonight, steak or salmon?"

"A big juicy steak, your highness. With some of that delicious wine you had before."

"Consider it done, Andreas."

* * *

Hours later in the garden atop the government building, Cornelia, Darlton, and her knight Guilford sat at a table under the moonlight. Two servants brought out their expertly prepared dinner and two bottles of wine.

"So tell me Guilford, what exactly have we been able to find out about Zero in this past week?" Cornelia asked while pouring a large glass of blood red wine.

"Not much, your highness. Our spies and intelligence officers have determined that Zero is not a member of any of Area 11's major terrorist or resistance groups. Analysis of the Battle of Shinjuku has also revealed that whoever this man is, he is a tactical and strategic genius, easily surpassing the abilities of Kyoshiro Todou." Guilford replied.

"You're calling him a genius? Isn't that a bit much, Guilford?" Cornelia asked her knight.

Darlton spoke up. "Not at all, your highness. He somehow managed to steal 26 Sutherlands and then proceeded to wipe the floor with Bartley's army. Analysis of combat data from recovered units downed in the battle revealed that the enemy took absolutely no casualties until Prince Schneizel's special engineering corps deployed their new unit. The A-6 special weapon, an extremely advanced seventh generation prototype knightmare named Lancelot. The Lancelot managed to destroy nine enemy Sutherlands by itself before being cornered and surrounded with an elaborate ambush."

"Whoever this Zero is, he is capable of creating extremely advanced tactics and changing his strategy at will depending on the situation." Guilford added.

"Who was the pilot of the Lancelot? If he was the only one capable of damaging the enemy force then he must certainly be skilled." Cornelia asked her two knights.

"The pilot was, and still is, an Eleven, Private Suzaku Kururugi." Darlton informed her.

"The man charged with Prince Clovis' murder?"

"Indeed, your highness. Prior to our arrival here, Sub Viceroy Euphemia ordered a full investigation of Suzaku Kururugi. The investigation concluded that he was framed by leading member of the Purist faction, who at the time had absolutely no idea who the real killer was. They placed the blame on him in order to further their own anti-number agenda, while in truth Private Kururugi was incapacitated during the time his highness was slain."

"A most interesting development. I am promoting Kururugi from private to warrant officer for his combat performance. As much as I do not like relying on numbers, he has proven that he can get results." The Viceroy announced.

"Yes, your highness, I shall inform him immediately."

"Make sure you get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will drive Zero out into the open and crush him."

* * *

The morning after Cornelia's moonlight dinner, she was suited up and in her Gloucester. Her own private army was crossing the Arakawa river into the Saitama region. 3400 infantry, 242 armored vehicles, and 48 knightmares had completely surrounded the Saitama ghetto. Cornelia contacted all major news networks that broadcast in Area 11, and issued them an executive order to announce the fact that Saitama was to be destroyed. More importantly, she forced them to broadcast the exact starting time of the operation. Knightmares, tanks, and mechanized infantry units formed a complete encirclement of the ghetto and awaited the order to attack.

* * *

Lelouch's phone began ringing. The ID indicated that Ougi was calling him.

"Zero, what are we going to do about Saitama? Cornelia's forces have surrounded the entire ghetto and have announced their plans to destroy it."

"We will do nothing Ougi. If we attempt to break their encirclement from the outside we will find ourselves engaged in direct combat with Cornelia and her knights. We only have 18 knightmares at our disposal. If we had eighteen pilots of Rounds level then we would just barely have a chance at beating her, but at present we only possess one. There is no possible way we can defeat Cornelia in direct combat with the resources we have available." He explained.

"So we're just going to leave them to die?"

"I'll contact the local Yamato resistance cell there and tell them to evacuate as many people as they can. Cornelia's private army is one of the most powerful forces in the entire world, even miracles will not be enough to rout them. It will take some time before we can build up enough strength to face the Goddess of Victory in a straight fight and expect to do anything other than dig our own graves."

"I understand, Zero."

* * *

Viceroy Cornelia sat upon her throne inside the G1 mobile base at the edge of the Saitama ghetto.

"Your highness, why did we have the news broadcasters announce the precise timing of our attack?"

"Zero is a man with a taste for the theatrical. He is also genuinely concerned about the lives of Elevens. By recreating the conditions that were present at the Battle of Shinjuku, we may be able to lure him out." their commander explained.

"Viceroy, It is unclear whether the local resistance groups in Saitama support Zero or not." Darlton added.

"That does not matter. It does not matter if he shows up or not, either way we are still destroying a pocket of Eleven resistance. If he behaves the way I predict then he would almost certainly come here to assassinate me."

"Would you really risk your life like that, your highness?" one of the bridge crew asked her.

"Never in the entirety of history has there been a great warrior unwilling to face death."

* * *

Inside the Saitama ghetto, a resistance member's radio cracked.

"Can any of you hear me? This is Zero."

"Zero? We have been completely surrounded by Cornelia! Are you coming to rescue us?" The fighter asked into his radio, a glimmer of hope in his voice.

"As much as I would like to, I'm afraid that would be an unwinnable battle. Cornelia's private army is far too strong for any of us to directly engage. There is no point wasting our lives and equipment when the outcome is predetermined. Use the subway tunnels to evacuate as many people as you can before she attacks."

"Are you saying we should just let her destroy Saitama?" He asked angrily.

"You cannot defeat Cornelia with the forces you have at your disposal." Zero told them.

"We'll take your advice and evacuate the civilians Zero, but there's not a chance in hell we are letting that monster destroy our homes!"

"Very well then, feel free to pad their kill counts as you please, just don't get too many innocent people caught up in your suicidal last stand."

* * *

As the countdown timer ticked away to nothing, Cornelia activated the radio. "Viceroy Cornelia to all forces, begin combat operations immediately. Destroy Saitama and everyone in it."

Squads of knightmares and mechanized infantry began to push into the city, encountering no resistance at first. As they approached the center of the city, RPGs and machinegun fire began pouring out of the buildings above.

Lieutenant Rachel Ericsson slowly advanced down the road in her Sutherland, providing support for a Badger APC and three squads of mechanized infantry that were hugging the wall on either side of the road. Lieutenant Ericsson's factsphere sensor was working overtime to scan the nearby buildings for enemy activity. Reports were pouring in over the radio of enemy contact, yet they had not encountered anything. The sensor beeped and a red square appeared on her main display over a window three buildings down as her unit's system identified a threat. When she zoomed in on the contact she spotted a man with a shoulder fired rocket launcher lean out of the window. Rachel immediately hit the button for her external speakers.

"Hostile infantry in the windows ahead, everybody take cover!"

The Japanese resistance fighters most likely heard her say that, because less than five seconds later a storm of rockets and hot lead from concealed machineguns filled the air in the street. The infantry squads took cover behind whatever they could find and began returning fire. Yellow tracer rounds came pouring down from the rooftops, and blue tracers from the Britannian soldiers below sped toward their origins. Lieutenant Ericsson raised her Sutherland's KAR 25 rifle and opened fire on a machinegun nest in a building to her left. Her explosive rounds tore large chunks out of the building and silenced the machineguns.

The squad of infantry on her right were advancing quickly up the road to the cover of a large stone stairway when she saw two flashes from the rooftops 200 meters away to the left. Lieutenant Ericsson identified two rockets on a collision course with the exposed squad on her right. She accelerated as fast as her Sutherland would move and arrived between the infantry and the rockets with less than half a second to spare. Twin RPGs slammed into the left side of her Sutherland, destroying its left arm and left slash harken launcher. She rotated her aim and sent a torrent of burning hot tracer rounds at the source of the rockets.

As her fire hit the edge of the rooftop and the floor below it, she managed to cause a partial collapse of the building. Rachel's factsphere picked up more contacts on the street corner ahead. Before she could switch targets a stream of 25mm autocannon fire lanced past her Sutherland and cut down the enemy infantry as they were setting up to fire more rockets. She looked behind her and saw the APC she was escorting with smoke pouring from the end of its main cannon. The APC elevated its turret and fired another burst at more contacts on a nearby rooftop.

Just as the firing stopped a Type 10 prewar Japanese tank rolled out from behind a building at the end of the road. The unit rotated its 120mm cannon and fired an APFSDS kinetic energy penetration round at the APC in the middle of the road. The APC exploded as the hot penetrating rod pierced through the unit's frontal armor and detonated its fuel and ammunition stores. The infantry squads on either side of the road returned fire with anti armor rockets. Lieutenant Ericsson knew well enough that a kinetic penetration round could easily destroy her damaged Sutherland at this short distance. She reacted fast, raising her 25mm rifle and holding down the trigger to spray the enemy heavy tank with as much lead as she could throw at it. Before the tank's autoloader could reload, Rachel fired her remaining slash harken directly at the gunner's sight on top of the vehicle, rendering it blind. Her infantry support managed to score a pair of direct hits on the tank's tracks, rendering it immobile. The now blind crew inside the vehicle began to blindfire the unit's secondary machineguns. A thunderous boom echoed down the street and they fired their main cannon again, the round sailed past the Britannians and blew out the side of a nearby building. Despite their Japanese opponents' determination to continue fighting, the combination of 25mm armor piercing explosive rounds and 84mm anti armor rockets proved too much for the tank's heavy armor. The sixth rocket destroyed the tank and flames shot out of the turret and gun barrel.

* * *

"Report, General Darlton, what is our progress?" Cornelia requested.

"Your highness, units all across the city are reporting light to medium resistance from enemy infantry and several tanks. Casualties thus far have been light, 49 infantry and 7 armored vehicles lost to enemy fire, 5 knightmares have been damaged but are still operational."

"Has there been any sign of Zero?"

"Negative, your highness, there has been nothing to indicate that Zero is present. Enemy forces are showing only the most basic tactics and organization. Our forces are having no problem defeating them."

"Excellent. It would appear that Zero is smart enough to tell the difference between a trap and a repeat mistake. No matter, order all forces to continue their advance and destroy all opposition in the ghetto." She ordered.

* * *

At the outer edge of the Saitama ghetto, behind the G1 mobile base, stood a row of Sutherlands with their trademark red painted heads and shoulders. The members of the now disgraced Purist faction stood in silence, most of them still wanting to kill Jeremiah for ruining their ambitions. Jeremiah and Viletta's Sutherlands were on the right end of the line. They were talking over the secure channel that Zero had provided them.

"This battle is going exactly as Lelouch predicted it would, Viletta. Those resistance fighters in there, for all their bravery, stood no chance against Viceroy Cornelia." Jeremiah observed.

"He certainly seems to be right about a lot of things, doesn't he?"

"Having second thoughts about all this, Viletta?"

"From the moment I said 'yes'." The former Purist admitted.

"Just look at what Cornelia is doing out here. She was going to massacre this entire section of the city just to draw Zero out."

"When Clovis ordered us to do the same thing to Shinjuku, you never had any complaints."

"It honestly hadn't once entered my mind that we were killing innocent people. We both thought of them all as terrorists because they never reported the real terrorists' activities. We became so disconnected from the truth of what we were really doing that it never bothered us, or anyone else for that matter."

"Then how would you feel when he orders us to fight our own people, Jeremiah?" Viletta asked.

"I have no problem with fighting them, anyone who goes into battle knows the risks involved. And besides, Viletta, Lelouch would not order us to murder innocent people like Clovis did." Gottwald obeserved.

"I hope you're right about that, Jeremiah. I want to believe in the future he is trying to create, but it just seems so distant, like it's nothing but a good dream before yet another bad day."

"I know that feeling all too well."

"Tell me, Jeremiah, if we betrayed Britannia last week, why are we still in the army?"

"We are going to backstab them at the most opportune moment, Viletta. Whenever that is, Zero will decide. Until they we are supposed to play along and act like nothing's changed." Jeremiah informed her.

"It's a lot easier having someone to share these feelings with. I doubt I could go through with this alone. There's no way I could bottle this much up inside."

"You did the same thing for me when Marianne was assassinated. It's what friends are for, Viletta. When you get shot in the legs, its always nice to have someone to drag you out of the line of fire." Viletta laughed.

"I suppose you're right."

* * *

Lelouch's phone began to vibrate. He checked the number and saw it was from the resistance group he had contacted earlier.

"As much as I hate to admit it Zero, you were right." The man on the other end said, sounding exhausted.

"About which part?"

"Both. We managed to get most of the civilians out through the tunnels, but the Brits tore us to pieces. We took over 90% casualties, only a few of us were able to escape into the tunnels before they blocked the entrances. We lost all of our heavy weapons too." The fighter reported.

"As I said before, Cornelia is not like Clovis was. While Clovis was an artist and party enthusiast, Cornelia is one of the greatest field commanders in all Britannian history. She probably could have won the Battle of Shinjuku by herself."

"What should we do now, Zero?" He asked.

"Try your best to regroup and link up with other friendly forces. Stay as far away from Cornelia's army as you can for the time being. We cannot fight her in the open yet." Lelouch instructed.

Lelouch closed his phone and began to walk down the hall when Shirley came up behind him.

"Hey Lulu! We are going to go get some tea, want to come along?"

"Sorry Shirley, maybe some other time. I'm going out tonight."

"Going out where, Lulu?"

"Sore wa himitsu desu."

"Huh? Why are you speaking the Elevens' language?"

"That is a secret, Shirley." Lelouch replied with a grin.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you Lelouch!" Shirley accused him.

"I'm going to the ghetto to ask my Eleven girlfriend for the most dangerous places to gamble in Tokyo." Lelouch told her with a perfectly straight face. That hit Shirley like a flashbang in the face. Her eyes went wide and she froze up as her mind tried to process the information. Lelouch quickly vanished before she realized it was just an escape tactic.

He made his way to an upper class section of the city, where he had beaten a rather rich nobleman in a high stakes game of chess three weeks earlier. Lelouch walked up to the house and right in the front door as if he owned the place. The nobleman and one of his assistants were startled by the sudden intrusion.

"I thought I told you never to come back here again! And yet here you are barging into my home!" The nobleman yelled at him.

"How nice of you to remember me." Lelouch's left eye began to glow a bright shade of crimson.

"You have a rather nice mobile home outside, You will give it to me and erase all records of you ever owning it, then you will forget that you ever saw me."

"Yes, of course your highness!" The men replied in the same calm manner that was typical of those under the effect of Geass.

Lelouch made several other trips around the city over the course of the evening, including the tailor he had Geassed to create his Zero outfit.

* * *

Two days later the massive mobile home sat in a parking garage in central Tokyo. Zero had already moved his newly acquired merchandise into the makeshift mobile base. From outside came a knock at the door.

"What are you waiting for? Come on in." The masked man invited them.

Ougi, Kallen, and several other members of the former Shinjuku resistance group climbed up into the massive mobile home.

"Whoa this thing is huge!" Tamaki half yelled as he walked inside.

"Nobody would ever expect us in something like this." Kallen pointed out.

"How did you get a hold this awesome thing, Zero?"

"Haven't I told you Ougi? I'm a chess grandmaster. There are quite a few noblemen up to their neck in debt to me. Don't worry, no strings attached."

"Hey, it's even got a TV." Another resistance member said as he picked up the remote to the 55 inch plasma screen. He turned it on and saw a news broadcast.

"We are live outside the Lake Kawaguchi convention center and hotel, where the situation is currently unfolding." The anchor reported.

"Check this out!" Ougi told everyone.

"The hoteljackers have identified themselves as part of the now defunct Japanese Liberation Front, under Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe." The broadcast shifted to a clip of the hostages taken by a JLF cameraman. On the left of the scene were Shirley, Milly, Nina, and Nunnally.

"The student council." Kallen said to herself, feeling worried about her friends.

"What are we going to do Zero? The JLF is easily the biggest resistance movement in Japan, and now their pride is hurt because of us." Zero picked up a brown box and put it on the table in front of everyone.

"We are going to rescue them." Every head in the room turned to face Zero.

"Why in the hell are do you want to rescue Britannian hostages, Zero?" Tamaki spoke up first.

"Although I rarely agree with Tamaki's outbursts, he does have a point Zero." Ougi admitted.

"Take a good long look at that picture. What do you see?" Zero asked the room.

"A hotel full of JLF soldiers that are completely surrounded by the Britannian military?" Ougi guessed.

"Look closer. Notice how they are still surrounded, not being steamrolled by the massive Britannian force on the other side of that bridge. Cornelia is afraid to attack them for some reason. If we can rescue the hostages before Cornelia, with enough publicity, we can show the Britannian citizens of Area 11 that we can protect them better than their own army."

"Now Zero really has a point there, Ougi." Kallen said as she sided with him. "Just think what will be going through those Britannians' heads if the most wanted terrorist in the entire Britannian Empire rescues their hostages on live TV. They wouldn't be so quick to label us as terrorists anymore."

"Precisely my point, Kallen. We can take advantage of this situation to spread doubt among the Britannian population. The myth of Britannian infallibility would be shattered in an instant." As he noticed them begin to agree he opened the box on the table. "These are your new uniforms. If we are going to become international celebrities, we need to look good, don't we?

"This is some pretty good gear! Even the JLF doesn't look this good. We're gonna be the best looking resistance group in Japan!" Tamaki blurted out as he grabbed up one of the uniforms.

"Wrong!" Everyone turned to look at Zero. "We are not a resistance group."

"Then what are we, Zero?" Ougi asked.

"From this day forward we are a revolutionary army, dedicated to the destruction of Britannia's evils. From this moment on, We are the Order of Black Knights."

Five minutes later in the private room on the second floor of the mobile home, Zero sat and watched the broadcast alone. A knock came at the door. Ougi and Kallen stepped into the room.

"Lock the door." Zero instructed. As Kallen hit the lock, Zero took off his mask.

"What you said down there was certainly plausible, Lelouch, but why exactly do you want to rescue those hostages?" Ougi asked as he sat down.

"There are two things that I am not going to tell the rest of them."

"I saw her, Lelouch. That's why you want to save them." Kallen said. A part of her felt that she wanted to rescue them for Lelouch more than anything else. She could never forget how painful it had been to lose her brother. She didn't want him to have to endure it as well.

"Saw who, Kallen?" Ougi asked curiously.

"Nunnally, Lelouch's sister."

"That's only one reason. What I said down there was certainly true, but a secondary objective. What neither you, nor the news broadcasters know, is that Third Princess Euphemia is among the hostages in disguise." Both Kallen and Ougi gasped as they suddenly realized why Cornelia was holding back. "If I can rescue her from the JLF I may be able to...convince her to become my own personal informant at the highest level of Britannian command. Lelouch winked his left eye at Kallen, who immediately understood what he meant. As she was sitting slightly farther back than Ougi, he never saw the gigantic grin on her face.

"Well, this is certainly a hell of a lot bigger than I thought."

"Just imagine, Ougi, If I waltz out of that building to return Euphemia unharmed. Imagine what would be going through Cornelia's head, if her greatest enemy takes time out of his busy schedule to rescue her beloved sister from his supposed allies. If I can plant even the smallest seed of doubt into her mind, perhaps it will pay off big later. That's not even including the good publicity."

"I swear, Lelouch, only Britannian royalty could think of something this insane, deep, and ambitious." Kallen said as she stood up. The Black Prince chuckled at her.

"You just love me, I know."

* * *

Four hours later, Zero and his squad of Black Knights approached the rear of the Britannian containment on foot. Armed with assault rifles they moved in on a news van, number three. Kallen and Zero rushed through the van's door and forced the crew off at gunpoint. Once the vehicle was loaded with the rest of the Black Knights, and a large amount of explosives, they began driving toward the Britannian lines.

* * *

Cornelia, Guilford, and General Darlton moved down a hall to the G1 mobile base's knightmare bay. A soldier came out of a doorway behind them.

"Viceroy! It's Zero! He's stolen a news van and is heading straight at us!"

"Well this is an interesting development. Let him through, make sure to cut off any chance of escape he might have cooked up." The Viceroy ordered.

"Yes, your highness!" The soldier quickly replied before running off to carry out the orders.

"Viceroy, what do you intend to do?" Darlton asked her.

"If Zero wants to get into that hotel I won't stop him. No reason not to put all of our rotten eggs in one basket before we light it on fire."

"Are we to simply let him through then?"

"We shall stop him at the entrance to the bridge and find out what exactly he wants here. Perhaps he's trying to find a way out for Kusakabe. But knowing Zero I'm sure he's got something nice and flashy planned."

"But, your highness, Princess Euphemia is-"

"The only reason we have not yet leveled the entire building, Guilford. Nobody besides us knows that she is in there. If they had discovered that fact they would be right now using her to broker their freedom."

"Understood, your highness."

* * *

HiTV news van three drove down the road in the middle of the Britannian blockade, unfazed by the fact that every weapon in the area was fixed on them. Zero stood atop the van, almost daring them to shoot in his own silent way. As the van approached the bridge, three Gloucesters moved from their positions in front of the G1 to block his route. The cockpit of the lead Gloucester opened and Viceroy Cornelia stood tall above the head of her unit.

"So you've come to save them, or perhaps you intend to help us? Regardless, I shall take vengeance for my brother Clovis!" Cornelia raised her oversized sidearm at Zero.

"Cornelia! Which would you choose? Clovis who is dead? Or Euphemia who is alive?"

Even from his distance, Zero could see her eyes widen and her finger leave the trigger with that statement.

"What the hell are you talking about Zero?" Cornelia shot back, wondering if he was just bluffing that he knew the truth.

"It is within my power to save your sister from certain death at the hands of the JLF." Zero announced to her.

"What would make you believe even for the slightest fraction of a second that I would entrust Euphemia's life to a terrorist?"

"You wouldn't. The only terrorists here are inside that building. If you still intend to shoot me, then I hope you have had her funeral arrangements planned in advance."

"How do you know that she is in there, Zero?" Cornelia asked, now seriously concerned for her sister's satefy.

"Does that really matter? Your sister is still staring down the JLF's gun barrels, and I know they have itchy trigger fingers."

"Fine, Zero. As much as I hate you, I love Euphie more." She motioned to let them through.

The three Gloucesters moved out of the van's path and it began to cross the bridge. The van crossed the bridge and the JLF guards at the gate began to slide it open. The van parked at the base of the tower and Zero was escorted inside. Zero and his two guards moved to a nearby elevator and one of the guards hit the button for the 15th floor.

At the same time, Euphemia li Britannia was being escorted by another two JLF guards to the same destination. She had stood up and revealed her identity in order to protect a girl who had managed to piss of several men with assault rifles. Instead of shooting the girl, Euphemia requested to be taken to their leader, Kusakabe. While she was just arriving near an elevator, Zero had already reached his destination and now stood in a room with a katana wielding Kusakabe, and several of his subordinates.

"So I finally get to meet the infamous Zero. First thing's first. If you want to work with us, remove that mask." The JLF colonel instructed.

"Very well, colonel. But before I do, allow me to ask you. What do you hope to accomplish with this action?"

"Our stand here is to gain the world's attention. We are here to show them that the Japanese people are not dead yet. That our hearts remain strong, and our spirits unbroken."

"How simple. You people are obsolete, Kusakabe. Such a meaningless act of terrorism will do nothing to benefit the Japanese people. The only reason Cornelia hasn't simply demolished this building and everyone in it would the princess your men are escorting here at this very moment."

"Big words coming from a man who hides his face behind a mask. I suppose an agreement is not possible between us then?"

"The Japan Liberation Front is living in the past. You are just a relic of a forgotten age." Kusakabe took severe offense to what Zero was saying, possibly because he recognized it as a quote from Cornelia. He drew his katana and lunged forward.

"The time for talk is over Zero!"

A slit in the left side of Zero's helmet slid open. "Die." The Geass command forced Kusakabe and his subordinates in the room to comply. He reversed his sword and plunged it into his own torso as the men behind him raised their own pistols to their heads and fired. Zero heard a knock at the door as the men outside became alarmed from the gunshots. He correctly concluded that Euphemia had arrived for her audience with Kusakabe. Zero produced the Britannian assault rifle he had hidden under his cape and turned to the door before yelling. "Euphie! Pull you socks up!"

On the other side of the door Euphemia heard Zero's shout. Though she could not explain how or why, she realized exactly what he meant by his order. She let her legs give out and fell to the floor as fast as gravity would move her. Less than one second later a storm of hot lead punched its way through the door and into the three JLF soldiers who were standing outside. The stream of bullets tore through their unarmored bodies and showered Euphemia with warm blood. Euphemia pushed a corpse off of her as she slowly began to get up, the blood of her JLF captors dripping down her arms. She opened the bullet ridden door to find Zero reloading his assault rifle.

"Zero? I-I thought the JLF were your allies. Why did you shoot them?" Euphemia asked, clearly shaken. Although she had seen her sister Cornelia kill or severely injure people before, she had never actually been in the line of fire herself.

"Euphemia li Britannia, I apologize for catching you up in this mess I made. That's a lot of blood, are you injured?"

"No, none of the bullets hit me." She looked around and saw Kusakabe and his lieutenants, dead on the other side of the room. "Did you kill them too, Zero?"

"Yes, I killed Kusakabe and his men. This unit of the JLF were nothing more than petty terrorists, and their actions today have proved it."

"Why did you come here, Zero? Surely you must know that my sister has this entire area surrounded." The princess asked.

"I asked her to let me through."

"Why would she let you through? Just last week she went into a bloody rage demanding that you be executed on sight." Euphie told him, recalling the scene she had caused after being informed of the party that had been set up for her arrival.

"Because I'm here to rescue you, the other hostages as well." Zero declared.

"Why? Why would the man that murdered my brother want to rescue me?" Euphemia demanded to know, tears starting to pool in her eyes as she remembered Clovis.

"Clovis was nothing more than a genocidal monster. Thousands of innocent Japanese civilians were killed on his direct orders. That man deserved nothing less than death. But you, Princess Euphemia, you are nothing like him. A noble soul that would risk her own life for the safety of the common people. Such a kind, caring person does not deserve to die at the hands of these terrorists."

"So you killed my brother to avenge the people he killed? And you would rescue me for the people I helped save?"

"Indeed, Euphemia. My actions are guided by my principles. Those who kill should be prepared to be killed. Those who would risk themselves to save defenseless innocents should be granted salvation." Euphemia stood silent for a few moments, trying to figure out why the masked man's words sounded so familiar.

"You remind me of my dear brother Lelouch, Zero. He always used to preach the same ideals you follow."

"Lelouch vi Britannia died in during the conquest of Japan." Zero stated as a fact. She looked at the center of his mask, unable to shake the feeling in her heart. It had to be him. It just had to be. Euphie figured that there would be no harm in trying.

"You're right Zero. The Eleventh Prince did die seven years ago. But I have always felt in my heart that my brother lived on. His body was never found, and his death never proven. No matter how hard the army searched they could find no trace of him, or Nunnally. Suzaku Kururugi told me how friendly he was with the Japanese people. He told me that my brother came to love Japan as his second home after his exile. Suzaku told me that he had powerful friends in the Japanese leadership." Under his mask, Zero began to worry. He tried to maintain his composure as best he could. "I don't think he died at all. Do you agree, _Lelouch_?" Zero involuntarily took a step back.

"How, Euphemia? Am I that transparent? That you could see through me as if this mask does not exist, how is it possible?" Zero hesitantly reached behind his head and pulled off his helmet. "How did you do that Euphemia? How did you see through my thus far impenetrable armor, when all else have failed miserably to do so?"

"You have always been the brother I loved the most, Lelouch. When father said you were dead I locked myself in a room and cried until it hurt, every day for a week. I could never forget you. But tell me Lelouch, why did you become a terrorist?"

"Above all of Britannia's corruption and evils, above all of the horrible things they do to the peoples they enslave, they murdered my mother!"

"Lady Marianne was killed by terrorists, wasn't she?" Euphemia recalled what she, and the rest of the world had been told.

"I don't care who pulled the trigger. There is only one way she could have been assassinated in one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth. The perpetrators were never caught, there wasn't even an investigation! The Emperor had to have ordered it. Nobody else could have that much power."

"I..never knew that. I was so sad about your exile that I blocked everything else out."

"It wasn't your fault, Euphie."

"What do you plan to do? You are the most wanted man in all of Britannia. Why did you choose terrorism?"

"For the last seven years I have had to live a false life. I had to become nothing but a lie in order to protect Nunnally from that man."

"Nunnally's alive too?" She was having trouble containing the happiness welling up in her chest.

"She's down below with the rest of the Ashford Academy student council. My Black Knights are busy defeating the JLF and rigging the building to blow."

"Black Knights?"

"The Order of Black Knights are the beginnings of my own private army."

"Your own army? What are you going to do, brother?"

"Free Japan, destroy Britannia, and create a peaceful world, devoid of oppression for Nunnally."

"You want to destroy Britannia?"

"Yes! Britannia has taken everything from us, twice. I will not stop until the Emperor is dead and all the Areas are free of the Empire's enslavement."

"You are fighting Britannia in order to create a better world?"

"Precisely, sister. I shall destroy the Holy Britannian Empire that enslaves and oppresses so many. In its place shall rise a new, just world order. Where there are no numbers, where the weak are not cast aside as if they were worthless garbage. A world where justice and freedom are not just an exception." Euphie looked over at her brother with a smile on her face.

"Let me help you, brother. Let me help you create this better world."

"Euphie...do you realize what you are saying? The only way for me to do that is to defeat Britannia. To help me would be treason."

"Who is more evil Lelouch? The brutal tyrant that enslaves and oppresses the world? Or those who are unwilling to stand against tyranny?"

"What are you trying to tell me, Euphie?" He asked her, uncertain of where this was really going.

"My whole life I have been nothing but a figurehead, the big shiny jewel in the crown. No matter what titles I'm given or what positions I'm supposed to have, the only responsibility I have ever had is to just look pretty and smile. You think living a lie is such a bad thing? I would have given anything to be exiled with you. Even living a lie as a false commoner would be better than the hellish monotony I have to endure. Your lie is worth more than my meaningless existence!"

"You want to be strong, is that it? Strong enough to break the golden chains they have around you?"

"Yes! I can't stand this worthless life anymore! If treason is the price I have to pay in order to experience a real life that isn't just one big script, then so be it!"

"What sort of strength do you desire? Do you wish to be a powerful warrior like your sister, or perhaps you seek the throne?" Lelouch wondered.

"I don't know, Lelouch. I want to be strong enough to fight for what I believe is right. Strong enough to help those who cannot help themselves."

Powerful new ideas flashed into existence inside Lelouch's mind. 'So Euphemia's sick of being a sheltered, powerless figurehead. She wants to change the world, does she? Forget the idea of a Geass spy in Cornelia's inner circle, I can turn her into something far greater.'

"Euphemia, If I could grant you the power you desire, how far would you be willing to go to create a better world?"

* * *

"Lancelot now launching!" Warrant Officer Kururugi yelled into the mic as his white knightmare reached the bottom of the borehole. Suzaku immediately pushed the Lancelot to full power as he raced down the tunnel toward the hotel. At the other end of the tunnel stood a massive frankenstein contraption consisting of four stripped down Glasgows holding a gigantic cannon. Called a Raikou, this linear gauss rifle fired shells that broke apart into a load of 26 kinetic energy kill projectiles, in essence a giant electromagnetic shotgun. The last team of Sutherlands to attempt a breakthrough in this tunnel had been wiped out in a single shot, as the confined space left virtually no room to dodge the incoming fire. As the cannon's crew detected the Lancelot approaching the weapon began to charge.

Suzaku fixed the Varis rifle to a magnetic clamp on the side of his cockpit block and brought up his unit's arms. Twin diamond shaped energy shields burst into existence from emitters on the wrists. Kururugi overlapped the shields and spread the knightmare's legs in such a way that a direct hit from the front would be impossible. The Lancelot's sensors detected a massive energy spike as the cannon fired.

As the tiny metal spheres approached the Lancelot at hypersonic speeds, Suzaku was still moving forward at maximum speed. The incoming pellets smashed into the energy shields with enough force to bring the Lancelot to a near complete stop. The shields had been reduced to critically low integrity, but they had held. Suzaku had bet his life on the Blaze Luminous energy shield technology, and it payed off.

He deactivated the shields and grabbed the Varis from it's magnetic clamp. The barrel extended as he prepared to fire. He charged the Varis' magnetic coils to maximum output before firing a round down the tunnel. The Raikou had by this time recharged and fired again. The Varis shell's immense heat transformed the air in its wake to a state of plasma. The combination of superheated plasma and an extreme pressure wave disintegrated the Raikou's shot and went straight down the barrel, instantly destroying the weapon with a massive explosion that ruptured the tunnel and propelled the Lancelot high into the air. With the Varis on a lower velocity setting, Suzaku fired four rounds in rapid succession. All four hit their intended targets, the hotel's support beams and causing the foundation to collapse. As the building began to sink, A series of large explosions erupted from the tower's lower floors and crept their way up the building.

* * *

On the edge of the lake, news crews rushed to capture the moment, broadcasting the detonations around the globe. What they did not notice was Viceroy Cornelia and her two knights standing at the entrance to the bridge. As the explosions tore through the building, Cornelia involuntarily reached out for it. Her iron appearance quickly melting under the heat from within her heart. She screamed out for Euphemia. For the first time in her career, Cornelia was simply unable to act. The perceived death of her beloved sister was too much for even her icy heart to swallow. In the midst of her emotional breakdown, Darlton stepped up to the position of command.

"All search and rescue teams move in immediately! Save anyone you can! Those detonations were not part of our plan." He quickly ordered.

All eyes peered out onto the lake, now obscured by the dust and debris from the chain of explosions. Guilford, however, had the brilliant idea of using his Gloucester's thermal imaging system. As he scanned the waterfront he saw a large heat source, distorted by the smoke and dust, but clearly floating on the water away from the building itself. He moved his knightmare close enough that he could touch the Viceroy, who was still in distress. As tears flowed down her face she felt a hand on her right shoulder.

"My lady, I have detected an unknown heat source on the water. It looks like a boat to me." It was as if Guilford had come to burn through the darkness with a ray of hope. She turned to face him, dual streaks of liquid anguish running down her cheeks. "I know how hard this is for you, but there is nothing we can do at the moment but hope that she could have survived somehow."

An infantryman came running over the the three Gloucesters.

"Your highness! We can see a boat on the water!" The soldier yelled up to them.

Every one of them, including Cornelia, looked out over the dust and ashes on the water to see a yacht moving out of the veil. As they used their factspheres to zoom in on the boat, Cornelia's heart nearly stopped. Standing on the front of the slowly approaching boat was Princess Euphemia, her hair blowing in the light eastern breeze. The fair colored clothes she had been wearing when she left were soaked through with an incredible amount of blood. In her hands she was clearly holding a Japanese assault rifle, and what appeared to be a sword was strapped to her back. Cornelia's tears of anguish mixed with tears of absolute joy. Although she could see just fine, her brain had yet to register anything other than the fact that Euphemia was alive and well enough to stand.

Behind Euphemia, several lights burst to life to reveal eight figures dressed in black, Zero among them. The other seven all wore obscuring visors, revealing nobody's face to the hungry cameramen on shore. All eight were visibly armed with assault weapons. Other than Zero, they were dressed in what appeared to be a standardized uniform, and stood proudly before the massive Britannian force arrayed against them.

Powerful speakers and a camera activated as Zero began to speak.

"Dear Britannians, you need not worry this night. The terrorists have been slain, and the hostages have been freed. I, Zero, return them to you unharmed. Now to all the people of the world, fear us, or rally behind us as you see fit. We are the Order of Black Knights! "We Black Knights stand in protection of those who have no weapons of their own to wield, for those who are unable to defend themselves. Never again shall there be a one sided massacre of the weak by the strong without consequence. Colonel Kusakabe executed innocent civilians in his childish grab for world attention. Clovis ordered the deaths of thousands to hide his dirty little secrets from prying eyes. Both have died by my own hand. Both deserved nothing less. Those with power, fear us. Those without power, rally behind us. We, the Order of Black Knights, shall stand in judgment of this world!"

Cornelia watched through her screen as Euphemia walked over to Zero, gave him the assault rifle, and shook his hand. The Black Knights moved to the rear of the boat, where they boarded a VTOL aircraft. Euphemia took the boat's wheel and began to steer the yacht full of rescued hostages toward the shore as the aircraft in the back took off, and the Black Knights flew away into the darkness.

* * *

As the boat reached the shore, Sutherlands fired their slash harkens over the deck, catching the anchors against the opposite side. They used their harkens to drag the boat up onto the shoreline. As the hostages began to pile off, Cornelia raced her Gloucester over to the scene and jumped out. She ran over to where Euphemia had just disembarked the yacht and stopped a few feet away. As she approached her sister, Euphemia drew the katana she had strapped to her back, the blade as bloodstained as her clothes, and turned it horizontal before holding it out on her fingertips.

"Kusakabe's blade, Viceroy." She presented the sword.

"Euphie...what the hell happened in there?" Cornelia asked with worry choking her throat as her eyes realized the amount of blood her sister was covered in. It was like an image from some terrible nightmare. Euphie paused for a second as she noticed her sister staring at her.

"Oh, the blood? We killed a few people, Zero and I."


	6. Gathering Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, Slayers, or any of their canon characters.

* * *

A long, hot, relaxing shower with the security of a meter of armor between you and the outside world. Just the thing a dirty, sweaty, blood covered princess that smelled of gunpowder needed after the longest day of her life. Euphemia li Britannia stood under the descending streams of hot water, rubbing more shampoo into her long pink hair. It had been three hours since she and the other hostages had been rescued by the Black Knights, and it was her first time to really think since the shooting stopped. She turned around in the shower and looked into the tall mirror under the showerhead. Euphie pressed a button on top, and the mirror's defogger flushed away the steam with a rush of ice cold water.

She dimmed the lights and looked into her own eyes, a faint red glow staring back at her. It was only now, in the safety of this G1 mobile base, that the gravity of the day's events began to take hold. She had been taken hostage at gunpoint, met the most wanted terrorist in history, who turned out to be her dead brother, fought with one resistance group against another, and above all, she had actually killed people in the process. Before today the worst she had ever done was literally a slap in the face, now she had shot four men with a smile on her face. That was the part that was beginning to get to her. Never before had she enjoyed anything violent, she even apologized to the girl she slapped years ago. But she enjoyed killing the JLF terrorists, the sounds of their dying agony were music to her ears, and it terrified her.

Euphemia pushed the thoughts from her mind as she finished her shower, and stepped back into one of the G1's few tiny private rooms. The G1 was designed as a mobile command center, knightmare transport, and heavy fire support vehicle. It was not a luxury apartment on wheels. As the adrenaline spike that was keeping her going died away, so to did her energy. Overcome by a wave of exhaustion, the princess collapsed onto the bed, not even taking the time to get dressed. She pulled the blanket over herself and fell asleep in under a minute. But as her sleeping body moved further and further away from Kawaguchi, her dreams went back for more.

* * *

Euphemia's eyes closed in her bed, and opened inside her fresh memories.

"Euphemia, If I could grant you the power you desire, how far would you be willing to go to create a better world?" Euphemia stared into her brother's eyes, sifting through her emotions to find a true answer. Her deepest feelings clashed against each other inside her heart. Loyalty to her sister and her nation fought with her new desire to help make Lelouch's new world a reality. She wanted more than anything to do what was best for the people. Would the final result really be worth all of the suffering required to reach it? She was a princess of Britannia, an heir to the throne of the greatest empire in history, yet she felt so disheartened with the way it was being run. The treatment of the Numbers, the constant warfare, the culture of endless conflict, it all felt so wrong, yet she still had trouble letting go, Britannia was all she had ever known.

Lelouch sighed at her frozen form, aware of the battle that was likely raging in her head. He put his hands on her shoulders and shattered her concentration. "Well, Euphie?"

"I want to , Lelouch. I want to help you, I want to be strong. But I just...can't. I can't betray my sister, or my father, or any of them." Tears began to form in the corners of Euphemia's eyes. Lelouch's expression changed when Euphemia mentioned their father, his hatred welling up to the surface.

"Look at me, Euphie." Lelouch tightened his grip on her shoulders and looked through her eyes, right into her soul. She looked back into his eyes and froze with fear. Lelouch's left eye radiated a bright red glow. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, Euphemia. You will never be a slave to your weakness ever again! I command you to always be strong enough to do what you believe is right!" The crimson light burned its way into her mind, destroying all opposition. She truly believed Lelouch to be right, and in an instant the Geass banished every thought and feeling that kept her from pursuing her heart's desire. A faint red glow appeared in her eyes.

"I'll do it, Lelouch!, I will do everything in my power to cleanse the world of Britannia's evils and help you create a better future for the people!" A grin appeared on Lelouch's face. He achieved his goal. Euphemia pulled herself away from his grasp and walked across the room to Kusakabe's still fresh corpse. She pulled the katana from his body and wiped the blade clean on the unstained top of his uniform. Euphie pulled the scabbard from his dead grasp and strapped it to her back before sheathing the blade.

"Euphie...what are you doing?" Lelouch asked her in a state of worry. He certainly had not expected his Geass command to make her pick up a weapon. Euphie began to pick up an assault rifle from one of the dead JLF men. She turned her head and looked back at her brother, glowing red eyes visible in the low light.

"Kill the terrorists, and rescue the hostages. Wasn't that your plan, brother?" She calmly replied as she pulled extra magazines from the dead man's vest.

"What have I done to you, Euphie? My sister would never pick up a gun." He thought out loud, more to himself than to her.

"You set me free Lelouch! I don't have to be weak, worthless or insignificant ever again! I feel so strong, so empowered, so motivated. Nothing has ever felt more right!" Lelouch struggled to accept what he had just done. This was not at all what he thought would happen, but he knew there was no way to reverse the Geass command. He had no real choice but to go along with her new mentality, and figure out how to complete his mission without getting her killed."

"We need to go rescue the hostages, Euphie. We've spent too much time talking in here, we don't have much left."

"We are doing it by ourselves?" She asked.

"I brought a squad with me, Euphie, not a whole army. They have other objectives to complete. By now the building should be rigged to blow, most of the JLF on the lower levels should be dead, and the dock at the bottom of the hotel should be in our control. How many guards were with the hostages?"

"Seven of them. Four outside the room, three inside. At least that's what I saw when they took me to the elevator." She quickly recalled. They walked side by side out of the room, past the corpses, and toward the elevator.

"Euphie, I know you were not on the registry. Why did you reveal your identity to them?"

"One of the hostages was too frightened, and she called a JLF guard an Eleven. They were going to kill her for it."

"So you stood up for her yourself to save her life? How typically Euphie of you." He commented, forcing a smile out of his sister.

The elevator moved down to the floor where the hostages were being held. Zero motioned to the newly Geassed Euphemia to take cover as the door opened. Zero leaned out to check the hall, and saw nothing. He slowly moved out of the elevator, Euphemia right behind him. Both had their assault rifles up and were looking for targets. They came to an intersection and stopped against the left side of the hallway. Zero quickly peeked down both of the other halls and saw four armed men in JLF uniforms down the hall to their left.

"There's four guards in front of a door at the end of that hall. Is that where the hostages are?"

"Yes. The hostages are directly behind the door, sitting in the middle of the room."

"We need to kill the guards and take the hostages to the elevator. From the first floor it's not far to the dock."

"So what are we waiting for, Lelouch?" The red glow in Euphemia's eyes intensified. The Geass order strengthened to suppress the fear and indecisiveness that would have otherwise paralyzed her. All that remained was excitement and adrenaline. She let out an out of place cute giggle as her finger clicked the safe off and she began to move. Before Lelouch could stop her, she ran out in front of him into the intersection. Euphemia lined up the first guard in her rifle's tritium dot illuminated iron sights and squeezed the trigger. The weapon's recoil was more than she was expecting, and the already poor accuracy of her untrained hands went out the window. She had aimed at the closest guard on the right, but her wild spraying down the hallway had managed to hit all four of them. Three were still alive.

Zero stepped out from behind the corner and fired a three round burst into a wounded guard on the left side. Three rounds from his assault rifle ripped into the man's upper chest and neck area, severing vital arteries, his neck gushing blood. As Zero took aim at the second wounded man, Euphemia fired another excessively long burst at the man next to him, over a dozen rounds shredded the survivors.

Hearing the gunfire and screams from outside the room, the three JLF guards inside opened the door to try and help their allies. Unfortunately for them, Zero had already zeroed in the door, perfectly predicting their actions. As the door opened he fired a pair of single shots into the first man's head. The other two mimicked Euphemia and started spraying suppressive fire down the hallway. Euphemia was already behind the corner trying to reload her weapon, and Zero quickly took cover as well. He immediately dropped to the ground, flat on his chest, and rolled himself out into the hall. The JLF men did not expect this and still had their rifles aimed high. Zero fired before they could bring their weapons low enough to hit him.

By this time Euphemia had reloaded her rifle and began walking with Zero toward the hostage room, when suddenly her world began to blur out.

* * *

Euphemia could feel a hand shaking her, tearing her away from the dream world. The hand shook her again and her heart rate skyrocketed as adrenaline flooded through her system. She opened her eyes and grabbed the person's wrist in a split second, clearly startled from the awakening. Her eyes followed the arm up to see her sister's face looking down at her.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, Euphie." Cornelia spoke softly.

"Its ok, I was just dreaming." Cornelia crouched down next to the bed, bringing her head to the same height as her sister's.

"You're breathing heavily, were you having a nightmare?"

"I don't know. I back in the hotel, reliving the hostage rescue."

"Euphie, please tell me what happened in there. When I saw you on that boat you were holding an assault rifle and soaked with blood. What did those Black Knights do to you?"

"I never got to meet the Black Knights. Zero saved me himself."

"Tell me what happened." Cornelia instructed. Euphie decided to start from the beginning.

"A girl in the storage room we were being held in offended one of the JLF men. They were going to shoot her, so I stood up and told them who I was."

"They were already angry, Euphie, what if they had shot you instead?"

"I didn't care. I wasn't going to sit there and watch them kill her." Euphemia countered.

"As reckless as that is, what did they do to you after that?"

"I asked to be taken to their leader, Colonel Kusakabe. When I got there, Zero was already in the room. They were arguing about something, and then there was gunfire. Somehow he knew I was outside that door, because he told me to get down. Then Zero shot the men that took me there through the door. They were right next to me when he shot them, that's where most of the blood came from. After that, we talked for a few minutes in that room where the JLF leaders died."

"Zero killed them?"

"Kusakabe killed himself, and Zero shot the others."

"Tell me about Zero, Euphie. What was he like? What did he say?" Cornelia asked her, curious and desperate for any insight into her mysterious enemy.

"Would you believe me, if I told you he was calm, nice, and kind, Cornelia?"

"I can understand calm, but kind? That seems like a stretch for a terrorist."

"He isn't a terrorist!" She blurted out.

"Euphemia, that man killed our brother, and you would defend him?" Cornelia almost choked on her words in surprise.

"Zero is a resistance fighter and an enemy of the Empire, but he is no terrorist. Terrorists kill innocent people, sister. Zero saved us from the terrorists." Cornelia suddenly remembered that Zero said that 'the only terrorists are inside that building' "Zero told me that he killed the JLF because they were the terrorists." Cornelia sat silent for a moment, digesting her words.

"I think I understand what you mean, Euphie. Even if I don't agree with it. What did he talk to you about?"

"Politics and ideology mostly. But he did tell me why he created the Black Knights."

"He wants more than just killing Britannians and humiliating me?"

"Much more, Cornelia. He doesn't hate Britannians. He explained to me that his real enemy is the Britannian system, not its people. Zero wants to make a world where everyone is equal."

"Seems to fit the flashy speech he gave, doesn't it Euphie? I thought he was just another Eleven trying to resist destiny, but if he was, he certainly wouldn't have rescued Britannian hostages from his own people."

"He said that by sinking to Britannia's level of executing civilians, the JLF were the same evil under a different mask. After we finished talking, he requested that I help him rescue the hostages." She explained.

"Why would he need your help?"

"He said the people wouldn't trust him, and he needed me to help them along." Euphie lied, concealing the truth about her brother's survival.

"Why do I get the feeling that you did more than just give a motivational speech, Euphie? When you were on the boat you had a gun in your hand, you said you killed people. That isn't like you."

"We were outnumbered two against seven, sister. Didn't you always say that achieving fire superiority was critical when fighting outnumbered?" Cornelia sat surprised, first at the fact that her innocent little sister had actually been engaged in combat, and secondly that she actually knew what to do.

"So what actually happened?"

"I killed three of them, Zero killed the other four." She reported proudly.

"I'm amazed, Euphie. I would never have thought you could actually shoot someone. There isn't a violent cell in your body."

"You know me, always wanting to help people. It wasn't easy to shoot them, but it was the right thing to do. I helped save those people."

"Although I would rather have done it any other way, you are right. You did help save those people Euphie. That was certainly the hardest day of your life, get some rest. I have to go prepare for our next operation against another resistance group in the area."

"Good luck, sister." Euphemia tried to take the advice and go back to sleep, but her mind had other ideas.

* * *

It had been ten days since the Black Knights' unveiling at Kawaguchi. Zero had modest expectations of how much support they would receive from the Japanese population. They were completely unprepared for the torrent of new recruits from all walks of life. It appeared as if everyone wanted to be a Black Knight. Zero actually had to create a waiting list since the number of applications were outstripping their ability to supply them. In just over a week, the organization that began with eight members on a boat had swelled to a force of nearly a thousand.

The Order had only 18 knightmares, 17 Sutherlands and one Glasgow, the remnants of Shinjuku. What they did have now, was an abundance of infantry. Above anything else, the Black Knights needed funding and sponsors. If they were going to take on Britannia and win, infantry alone would not make the cut. And as always, Zero was the man with the master plan for everything.

Refrain, a highly addictive drug that induced hallucinations of the past, was flooding into Area 11 through the southern island of Kyushu. Provided by Chinese producers, and distributed by the Britannian mafia, the drug was destroying the already fragile Japanese population. They were making hundreds of millions of pounds from their lucrative distribution networks around Japan. Zero saw a perfect opportunity for expansion. Taking a page from Lina Inverse's spellbook, he would destroy the cartels and steal their drug money to finance the Black Knights' own operations.

Intelligence had determined that the cartels conducted business in the docks district of Tokyo, using bribed Knight Police units as their own private security force. Zero divided the Black Knights' combat power into nine units, units 1 though 9. Having identified the warehouses that were the cartels' primary distribution centers, he set up nine simultaneous raids on the biggest ones. Zero and his unit 1, the original Black Knights, along with their units' two knightmares prepared to strike.

* * *

The Black Knights moved along the rooftops, silently moving into position at the top of the warehouse.

"Zero to all units, commence operations. Unit one, lights out. Switch to thermal optics and sound suppressed weapons." The infantry pulled on their night vision gear and the unit's designated marksmen switched their assault rifles for M392 silenced battle rifles. When they signaled that they were in position at the top of the warehouse, Zero used his Sutherland's slash harken to cut through the building's external power supply.

The cartel workers inside the warehouse were busy checking and packaging a large shipment of Refrain when the lights suddenly went out.

"Zero to unit 1, warehouse is dark, engage with silenced weapons only until our knightmares move in."

"Understood." Ougi replied over the secure comms channel. He readied his M392 and looked into the weapon's thermal scope. He switched the optics to 2x zoom and white hot before centering his aim on one of the armed guards inside the warehouse. Through a carefully removed window he lined up the sights on the target's head and fired. A single subsonic round penetrated the man's head. Inoue and another of the team's designated marksmen followed Ougi's lead, eliminating target after target with their silenced rifles.

One of the men in the warehouse hit the breaker for the emergency power generator, and the lights came back on.

"Lights on, weapons free. We're going loud." Zero said over his unit's channel. Zero's black Sutherland and Kallen's modified red Glasgow smashed their way through the building's sheet metal door. Both units raised their KAR 25 rifles and opened fire on the remaining enemy infantry who had by now taken cover. The 25mm rounds met little resistance as they tore through the boxes and thin metal plating the cartel's infantry were hiding behind. From the catwalks above, Ougi, Tamaki, Inoue, and several others rained lethal assault rifle fire down on the targets that the their two knightmares could not see.

From behind the knightmares, two of the remaining cartel members broke cover and readied RPGs. Tamaki saw them and shifted his aim, hosing the targets with well aimed bursts. Rounds ripped into their upper bodies, multiple headshots on each sending the remains of their brains across the floor.

The Black Knights had little trouble crushing any resistance in the warehouse from the cartel. Just as they were mopping up the rest of the infantry, two white Sutherlands burst through the back door and immediately opened fire. The Tokyo Settlement Special Law Enforcement Unit, commonly known as the Knight Police, were a branch of the Police force that were equipped with knightmares. Their distinctive white Sutherlands were originally intended for riot control and anti terrorism operations, but being just as corrupt as any part of the colonial government, they were bought off by the Refrain traffickers. Zero and Kallen strafed in opposite directions to escape the incoming fire. They moved behind the concealment of the large shelves. The Knight Police stayed together, expecting a double sided ambush as they approached the aisles.

Further ahead, the Black Knights infantry had commandeered the anti armor weapons from the fallen defenders . They fired three rockets at the lead Sutherland, forcing it to evade and drawing their attention. Zero and Kallen used their units' slash harkens to pull themselves up on top of the shelves. Just as the rockets passed by, they fired their harkens and 25mm rifles from above at the Sutherlands, who attempted to mimic their escape pattern. From above, the Black Knights easily shot the Knight Police to pieces as they was no room to maneuver in the tight aisles.

They moved back to the main distribution area and proceeded to destroy the drugs and steal the cases of money. All along the docks district, each raid followed a similar pattern. The Black Knights attacked with total surprise, annihilating the poorly equipped cartel personnel and making off with millions of pounds in drug money. The Refrain shipments themselves were destroyed.

* * *

"What is happening on the docks, Darlton?" Cornelia asked her favorite general as she arrived at the command center in the main government building.

"Reports from the Knight Police indicate that they are encountering enemy knightmares and infantry forces all across the area. Specifically near the warehouses that the mafia are suspected to be using as Refrain distribution points."

"Someone is attacking the Refrain traffickers?"

"Although unconfirmed, it appears that the Black Knights are behind the attacks. Knight Police units in the area report coming under attack from black Sutherlands and a red Glasgow."

"What the hell is Zero thinking Darlton? Does he really want to do all the work for us?"

"I wouldn't complain, your highness. This action by the Black Knights frees up considerable resources that were committed to suppressing the mafia and their drugs trade. If they did indeed target Refrain distributors, that would also mean a significant reduction of supply reaching the Eleven population."

"He wants to do your job, sister." Euphemia added as she entered the room from behind them. "By rescuing the hostages as Kawaguchi and attacking the Refrain dealers on the docks he is sending a message."

"Really now, Euphie? And here I was getting my hopes up that he would actually be helping us. What do you suppose this message is?"

"Zero's actions are deliberate and calculated, sister. He is trying to show the people that his Black Knights can do the government's job better than the government can."

"I had never thought of it like that, your highness. Your sister has a point, Viceroy. By going after the same people we should be, he is trying to publicize the police's incompetence more than his own success."

"Regardless of what his intentions are, Darlton, his actions have made our lives a bit easier for the moment."

"I disagree, Viceroy Cornelia. We either need to attack and destroy the Black Knights, or clean up the government's act. If he continues to do the police's job with exponentially greater effectiveness, Zero will gain widespread public support. Not only is he continuing to humiliate us, he is also gaining considerable power in the process."

Cornelia stepped closer and put her hand on Darlton's shoulder. "Times like this make me glad to have your insight, Andreas." She turned to face Euphemia. "What do you think, Euphie? You did bring up a very good point."

"I think we need to focus our efforts on cleaning the corruption from the government. Going after the Black Knights is a losing prospect, since they seem to be very good at remaining in the shadows when the light gets too bright."

"Are you just saying that because they saved your life?"

"Zero had a good point about Britannia being very corrupt, sister. If we don't take steps to reverse that, it won't matter if we beat the Black Knights or not. The root cause of our problems will still remain, and others will emerge to take their place." Euphemia concluded.

"Once again I would have to side with Princess Euphemia, Viceroy. The Black Knights exist because our police forces are practically in the mafia's pocket, with security going to the highest bidder. Even if we were to destroy Zero and his group tomorrow, others would rise against us for the same reasons. The Black Knights are an effect of our system's incompetence. If we can purge the corruption from the system, then Zero would have a hard time justifying his actions."

"Very well then. Find out who we need to purge in order to fix this problem. Police work and public relations are not exactly my cup of tea, therefore I am leaving this in your capable hands, Darlton."

"Understood, Viceroy. We shall begin at once."

* * *

Two days after their nine simultaneous raids on the Refrain warehouses, Kallen stood at the top of an open air mall in the center of a park in the Britannian section of Tokyo. She stood on the walkway above the in ground mall, her phone against her ear.

"So Ougi, what exactly were the places we raided. I know they were mafia warehouses, but what were they using them for?"

"Those were the main packaging and distribution for Refrain in the Tokyo area." Ougi explained.

"What exactly is Refrain? Like cocaine or heroin?"

"It's a psychotropic drug that makes you feel like you are in the past. I'm sure you can guess why it's so popular here in Japan."

"Who doesn't wish they could go back to days before the occupation? Life was nice and happy without the Empire bleeding us dry."

"What about the shipment from Kyoto?"

"Since we were already doing so well they gave us a lot of goodies. Burais, updated weapons for the Sutherlands, even a few of their new experimental tanks."

"Tanks? Why would they send us tanks when we have knightmares?"

"These aren't your average tanks, Kallen. The first tank designed in the age of knightmare combat. They call it the Type 17 Naginata." Ougi told her with a bit of excitement.

"What's so special about them?" She wondered.

"Compared to the Brits' Panther tank, the Naginata has heavier armor, twin 105mm cannons and a remotely controlled machinegun."

"Still doesn't sound very impressive. 105 is a sub par caliber for a tank."

"How about a 30mm direct fire railgun with a maximum effective range of 15km?"

"I like what I'm hearing, Ougi, tell me more." Kallen's voice began to sound a bit more seductive over the phone.

"The Naginata deploys a stabilization system and diverts the whole system's power to the railgun, which can cut a Sutherland in half with a single shot."

"Sounds promising, Ougi. Call me when the ammo and energy fillers arrive."

Kallen turned her head to see five Britannian men beating up one Japanese man. With a look of anger on her face she turned and began to advance on them when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw Lelouch shaking his head.

"There's five of them, Kallen. As strong as you are, five to one is just too many."

"Are we just going to watch them do that, then?" Lelouch made eye contact with her, and his left eye began to glow a bright crimson. Her expression changes when she realized what he was going to do.

"You just let me handle them." The five men suddenly turned and began walking toward them.

"Hey you got a problem over there?" The leader asked.

"Na look at them, just Brits like us enjoying the show." Another of the men said.

"Actually, I do have a problem with that. You Britannians are all the same, beating that man half to death just because there are more of you. You people make me sick."

"Well look at this, boys. This guy likes Elevens does he? Lets teach him the error of his ways."

Lelouch looked into their eyes and flared his Geass eye. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, die." The Geass order took hold in the their brains, and a faint red light emanated from their eyes.

"Happily, your highness!" All five men said in unison. The leader of the group pulled a pistol from his coat. He then proceeded to shoot his friends, one bullet in each of their heads. Finally he raised the barrel of the weapon to his own temple, and fired. Brain and bone fragments sprayed out the other side of his head as the bullet penetrated both sides of his skull. The man collapsed into the growing pool of blood his newly murdered friends were creating.

"Lelouch...was that the power you told me about?" Kallen asked the inhumanly calm Lelouch with fear in her voice.

"Not the first time I've killed people with my Geass. The very first order I gave forced 14 royal guardsmen to do exactly the same thing in Shinjuku." Lelouch explained to her.

"What if I was looking at you too? Would I have killed myself?"

"No, Kallen. The power only works once per person, you taught me that yourself." Lelouch explained as they walked away from the scene, everyone else having scattered when the firing started.

"So I'm immune to it then?" She concluded.

"Correct, Kallen. My Geass would have no effect on you no matter what order I gave. The same can be said for Jeremiah and Viletta."

"About them, Lelouch, how are the leaders of the Purist faction going to help us?"

"Jeremiah is loyal to me, Viletta is certainly having second thoughts, but she wouldn't betray Jeremiah. I have a plan to use them to get the Purists on our side." The prince explained.

"Would your plan happen to involve Geass?"

"You catch on quickly, Kallen. Cornelia will certainly keep them behind the lines, making it easy to hit her forces from two sides."

"I thought we were going to avoid direct conflict with Cornelia's army."

"The situation has changed. Since you are my most trusted friend and ally, I will share the information with you early. Euphemia has informed me that Cornelia is planning a major offensive against the JLF's main concentration in the Narita mountains this weekend." Lelouch revealed.

"Euphemia told you? As in Princess Euphemia?" She gasped, amazed that Zero's crazy plan had acutally worked.

"Correct. She's my informant at the highest level of Britannian command."

"So you did manage to Geass her like you said before we went over there? You never told me what happened with her." Kallen wondered, having never even seen her until they were on the boat.

"Not quite, Kallen." Lelouch stopped walking and turned to see the setting sun reflecting off of the city. "We had a nice long talk in the Kawaguchi hotel. You wouldn't believe how happy she was to see me again."

"You told her who you are?"

"She figured it out herself, surprisingly enough. I guess no matter how hard I try to avoid it, in the end I'm still her brother. Euphemia was already sympathetic to the mission of the Black Knights. Her ideas for a better world are strikingly similar to my own. She was already standing on the edge, looking down to our side. I just applied a bit of Geass to make her unafraid to jump down."

"So Euphemia's not just a Geass informant?"

"I wouldn't do something like that to my own sister if I didn't have to. She actually wanted to join us, but was too torn and afraid to do so completely on her own."

"This is starting to feel like some spy novel plot. Our enemy's sister is actually a spy that's telling us what is going on behind the scenes."

"As strange as it sounds, it's true. This weekend we are going to take the fight to Britannia, and we are going to win." He told her confidently.

"Can we really do it, Lelouch? Can we really beat Britannia in open warfare?" Lelouch stopped walking and paused for a moment, before he turned back to Kallen.

"Kallen, look at the setting sun and tell me what you see."

"I see the light fading to darkness." Kallen quickly replied, not completely understanding what she had really been asked.

"And doesn't the sun always rise from the darkness?" Lelouch could see a tear on the corner of her eye as she understood what he was saying.

"Lelouch..."

"When I look over at the setting sun I see 2010. I see the invasion, the occupation, and the oppression. I see Britannia smothering the light and enveloping the world in the darkness of night. It has been night for eight years, Kallen." Lelouch pulled Kallen closer and put his arm around her shoulder, his head leaning on hers as they stood side by side watching the sunset. " We can make the sun rise again, Kallen. Narita will be the first light ascending over the horizon to push back the night."

"It's been a long time since I've felt real hope, since before Naoto died. I would never have imagined a prince would be the one to bring that feeling back." Kallen put her left arm around Lelouch, mirroring him.

"I can't defeat Britannia without you, Kallen. You are by far the strongest of us. There exists no other warrior that can stand against Cornelia or her Lancelot and expect to win. Even the Knights of Rounds would cower and flee before you."

"You really think I'm that good, Lelouch? That I could beat the best Britannia has to offer?" She wondered. The Rounds were supposedly the very best pilots in the entire empire. If one were to believe the propaganda, each of the twelve was as good as an entire army.

"You have no equal, Kallen. They call Cornelia the Goddess of Victory, don't you think it's about time you put that imposter in her place?"

"Have I ever told you how inspirational you can be?" The smile refused to leave her face.

"Tell me later. Lets go back to the warehouse, I have a very special gift for Japan's greatest warrior."

* * *

Later that Friday night in the Black Knights' warehouse base, over two hundred Black Knights were inspecting their new equipment. Two rows of 10 Burais each stood near the seventeen Sutherlands. Off to the side was Kallen's modified red Glasgow, standing apart from the other 37 black knightmares. Her unit was unique among the Black Knights' arsenal.

On the other side of the row stood another red knightmare. The new unit was taller, larger, and scarier than the old Glasgow. The Guren MK II was both the first knightmare built from blueprints up by Japan, and the only seventh generation knightmare belonging to anyone other than Britannia. The unit's revolutionary motorbike style seat, unique armor design, and advanced weapons made it a massive force multiplier for the Black Knights. The Guren's left arm came equipped with a wrist mounted 30mm autocannon, eliminating the need to use left hand for a ranged weapon. The right arm was a shiny metal claw. The claw was actually an extremely advanced energy weapon. Between the hand's long, molecularly sharp claws sat a nuclear pulse emitter in the palm. Called a Radiant Wave Surger the device emitted a devastating blast of thermal and nuclear radiation, capable of melting through almost anything with directed blasts of heat exceeding 3500C.

Lelouch, now in his Zero suit, lead Kallen to the Guren.

"This is the Guren MK II, our very own seventh generation knightmare, and the most powerful weapon ever built by Japanese hands."

"It's beautiful, Zero." Kallen managed to slip out as she stared in amazement at the crimson machine. Zero reached out and grabbed her right hand, and placed a small red key in her palm.

"That's your knightmare, Kallen. Our greatest weapon for our greatest warrior." She turned her head and stared into the black mask beside her.

"I'd kiss you if you weren't wearing that mask, _your highness."_

"I've never really thought of myself as a prince charming." Zero replied, low enough that nobody else would hear.

"Why don't you get a bottle of wine and give me a chance to change your mind?"

"Tell me, Kallen. When did you become so interested in me? Not that I'm complaining, of course." The man behind the mask asked her. It did seem a bit strange how her attitude toward him had changed so much, so fast.

"Can you blame me? Ever since you gave me hope, since you made me believe that we could do more than just resist, since you made me truly believe that we could win our freedom, I just can't stop thinking about you." She admitted honestly.

"So you fell in love with me on my yacht?" Kallen's face turned as red as her hair.

"I...I..."

"I know how you feel, Kallen. Watching you fight them made me feel the same way. You made me believe that Britannia could truly be beaten. Although I've hated them for nearly half my life, you gave me the confidence I needed to turn your rebellion into our revolution." Kallen stared at the mask of Zero, a potent mix of happiness and attraction swirling around inside her.

"Would you stay with me tonight?" Kallen asked in as low a voice as she could, not wanting anyone else to hear her for fear of what kind of insane rumors would be floating around the next day. Her heart rate skyrocketed the milisecond that the words had finished coming out. Half of her couldn't believe that she had really asked him that, and the other half was dying to know what the answer would be.

"Of course I would." Lelouch replied with a hidden smile.

Five minutes later they were in Zero's room on the second floor of their mobile home base. Lelouch finished removing his mask and cape just before Kallen threw him onto the bed. She got on top of him and forced a deep, long kiss. She moved hand to start unbuttoning her shirt when Lelouch gently grabbed onto her wrist.

"Not yet, Kallen."

"But why?"

"I know how you feel Kallen, I want you almost as bad as you want me right now, but not tonight. I would prefer if our first night together was not just an expression of mutual lust." Lelouch put his hands on her cheeks and stared across the five inches between their faces. His left eye began to glow a bright red as he looked at her. "I want you to destroy them tomorrow. Crush Cornelia's army with your unstoppable force. Make Britannia cower in fear of your might. Do this, and you can have me in every way you could ever desire, Kallen."

A grin swept over Kallen's face. "Very well, my Black Prince." Lelouch wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down against him. They met in another marathon kiss before Lelouch pulled the blanket over them. Kallen wrapped her whole body around him as they held each other. "I swear, I'll bathe the land in the blood of our oppressors. You're going to be proud of me, Lelouch, just wait and see."

As he lay there drifting away to sleep, Lelouch's mind couldn't help but make comparisons. So far, Kallen was nothing like CC. The witch's attraction to him was primarily driven by lust. Had he tried to do the same thing to CC, she would have told him to go sleep on the couch.

Kallen's attraction, on the other hand, was clearly fueled by love. She was much nicer and warmer, and definitely a better person to share a bed with. Then he wondered how it would have felt if he hadn't stopped her. He never got the chance to figure it out, as he quickly fell asleep in what was definitely the most confortable position he had ever known.

* * *

Note about the Geass order on Euphemia: The Geass placed on Euphemia did not do what Lelouch expected it to do. It effectively blocks out any thoughts or emotions that would prevent her from doing what she believes is the most right. For example when they were in the hallway outside the room full of hostages, the original Euphemia would have tried to find some kind of non violent solution or work out an agreement. She values the rescuing of the hostages more than the lives of the JLF soldiers. In her Geassed state, none of the emotions that would have prevented her from shooting the guards are present. In that hallway she wanted to free the hostages, so the Geass blocked out her fear, pity, value of human life, and even her non violent nature as all of these would have otherwise been obstacles toward completing her true desire.

Instead of being enslaved to a single command, she is instead enslaved to her true desires, and the Geass will push her very far out of bounds in order to allow her to do what she believes is the most right thing to do.


	7. To Scale Olympus

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Kallen regained consciousness to find herself wrapped in something soft and warm. A second later she realized that she was still tangled up in the blanket on Lelouch's bed. Kallen's ears picked up the muffled sound of his voice, and she opened her big blue eyes to see nothing but darkness. As she tried to sit up it became clear that Lelouch was no longer in bed, and had put a large pillow in his place before pulling the blanket over her.

Kallen pushed it all away and sat up to see Lelouch leaning back on a chair in his Zero outfit, minus the mask, talking on a phone, a clearly feminine voice coming from the other end. The first thing she felt was an unfamiliar pang of jealously. Inside her head, the emotional Kallen and the rational Kallen began a fierce duel. The emotional Kallen struck first.

"Look at him! He refused to do anything more than kiss you last night and now he's talking to another woman. He has to be hiding something!"

"Think, Kallen. He's outrageously attractive. Over half of Ashford Academy's female student population wants him, whether they are straight or not. It's very improbable that you are the first woman he's ever spent the night in bed with. Just be glad he's interested in you at all."

"No shit, miss rational. He's got so many other girls he doesn't even have enough energy left for you!"

"That's baseless, Emotions, you don't know how many he's been with, or even what he wants in-"

The mental duel was cut short by a finger poking her between the eyes.

"Are you alright Kallen? You're not breathing." Kallen awoke from her trance like state and finally remembered to breathe.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, Lelouch. Just thinking, that's all."

"Something's bothering you, isn't it. You just aren't the kind of person to think hard enough to forget to breathe."

"You have someone else, don't you?" She asked him, trying hard not to sound jealous.

"That's what you were thinking about?"Lelouch sounded surprised.

"Yes, Lelouch. You have to have someone else. I was on top of you, getting ready to take my clothes off last night. I could see the desire in your eyes. There's just no way you could have resisted that and then sleep with me unless you have someone else to please you. And I wouldn't believe for a second that you could have done that on willpower alone."

"You're right. I never told you because I thought it was irrelevant, but I won't try to keep secrets from you."

"Well, who is it, Lelouch? Shirley...Milly?" Kallen wondered, her mind imagining the two most likely candidates.

"What about Nina?" Lelouch quickly replied with a grin. Kallen visibly shuddered.

"...There's just no way you would want Nina...I can't even imagine you two together."

"But she's so smart and so very submissive."

"You're creeping me out now, Lelouch." Lelouch started laughing.

"No, its not Nina." He finally told her.

"If you said yes I would have had a heart attack."

"Its CC." A blanket of silence engulfed the room for a good 20 seconds.

"The girl in the straight jacket with green hair? Are you serious, Lelouch?" Kallen's voice conveyed more curiosity than anger.

"I had to repay her for giving me my Geass somehow. And spending five years tied up in an isolation chamber must have been hell for her."

"So she wanted to screw you because you released her in Shinjuku?"

"We have a mutual understanding. As payment for giving me Geass, I have to provide her with lots of pizza, sex, and complete my end of whatever the contract we made is. Our relationship is more of a business deal than real attraction, though I will admit, with fourteen centuries of experience, to say a night in bed with her is like a trip to heaven and back is a severe understatement."

"So you two are just using each other?"

"Pretty much. You shouldn't feel threatened by her, CC only really has one asset, you have three."

"Three?" Lelouch got out of his chair and sat down next to Kallen.

"CC's just an ancient witch with a really good body and an overcharged libido. She's my friend and ally, but CC isn't the kind of person I could love."

"Did you just say you love me?" She blushed.

"Not yet, Kallen. But I certainly could. You have three things no other woman has more than two of. One's here." He rubbed his hand on her right thigh. "Another is up here." Lelouch tapped her on the side of the head. "And what really makes you special is in here." he put his gloved hand over her heart. Kallen put her strong arms around him and pulled him down onto the bed. "Remember what I said last night. We're going to wait until Cornelia's tied up in a cage downstairs."

"Why do you have to torture me like this, Lelouch?"

Lelouch looked into her eyes and smiled. "Carrot on a stick, Kallen. "

* * *

Ten minutes later, Zero and Kallen were walking down the hall toward the large open area in the back of the warehouse. All attendant Black Knights had been called to the spot for what they were told was a major announcement.

"So who was it on the phone earlier?" Kallen asked her masked companion, curious as to who the other woman really was.

"Euphemia. Calling to deliver me the key to our victory."

"What is it, Zero?"

"An email containing complete lists of Britannian IFF frequencies, communications codes, and unbelievably, a complete copy of Cornelia's force deployments."

"Did you just say what I think you said? We really have their deployment maps?"

"Indeed we do, thanks to my wonderful sister. With this I will know what Cornelia will do better than she will." He said with confidence.

"Fighting Cornelia out in the open suddenly feels a lot less like scaling Olympus."

"That's brilliant, Kallen!" Zero blurted out.

"What did I say?"

"Olympus. We are going to climb a mountain to fight a goddess today. Operation Olympus it is then."

"That has a rather epic ring to it, Zero."

"Just think about it, If we really do win this war, if we really can defeat the greatest empire in all history, perhaps it will be our names will be on a history test twenty five centuries later."

"I can already imagine some little kid falling asleep in class listening to the story of how we rose from a bunch of resistance fighters in a ghetto to world conquering heroes."

Kallen and Zero approached the stage where over three hundred men and women wearing the uniform of the Order stood, waiting for Zero to appear. Kallen split off from him and took a spot at the front as Zero walked up to the center of the raised stage. Zero stopped in the middle and turned to face the audience before him.

"My Black Knights, each and every one of you who stands here this morning are united by our common values. We stand together against the evils of the Holy Britannian Empire. The Order of Black Knights exists to oppose their evil, to fight against their tyranny, and build a better future for the world.

Today we will translate our words, feelings, and values into action! Later today, Viceroy Cornelia will be launching a massive attack on the main JLF stronghold at Narita. She believes that we can do nothing but hide in the shadows, that we would not dare stand against her in the light. I believe she is dead wrong!"

The crowd of assembled Black Knights were visibly moved and motivated by their leader's speech. They began chanting 'Zero". Zero put his arms out and motioned for them to quiet down enough to let him finish.

"At noon today the Britannian Army will begin to cut off all access to the area surrounding the JLF mountain fortress. As our response to their move, I have developed Operation Olympus." Down in the front row, Kallen smiled. "We will beat the Britannians to Narita and deploy our forces upon the summit of the mountain. When they are fully engaged against the defending JLF forces, we will launch a massive counterattack from the summit of the mountain and destroy them in open battle.

The objectives of Operation Olympus are as follows. Our primary aim is to capture Cornelia. Secondary objectives include the destruction of the Britannian forces, eliminating enemy HVTs, notably her knights, and the rescue of the surviving JLF forces. Pack your bags, we leave in one hour."

At the very moment Zero's speech ended, the Black Knights raced to pack and prepare their equipment for battle. Kallen walked forward toward Zero as the assembly began to scatter off in every direction.

"Why are we trying to get there before the Brits setup their containment, Zero?"

"Cornelia will expect a surprise attack from behind, it is only logical. But tell me Kallen, how many people would actually expect a large surprise attack from inside their containment?"

"I certainly wouldn't."

"Combine that with the fact that a certain reserve unit is going to backstab them at the most opportune moment, and we have a winning plan."

"A reserve unit?" She wondered who would be left in reserve.

"Jeremiah provided me with a perfect opportunity to 'convince' the Purist faction to change colors." Kallen winked her left eye at him.

"Would I really waste my time doing it any other way? Except for Jeremiah and Viletta, the rest of the Purists are completely expendable. All they really need to accomplish is to cut through the enemy's rear units like mobile artillery. If we get lucky they might even be able to take out the G1, but I wouldn't count on it."

"I guess we should go get ready now."

"Indeed. A goddess waits for nobody."

* * *

11:30, five hours after the Black Knights moved out, Cornelia and her army approached the target area. At the heart of their force was the G1 mobile command center. The heavy unit moved up the highway leading to Narita, leaving massive treadmarks in the once flat road surface. Four Britannian divisions, along with supporting units proceeded to surround the area and seal off all access. As they approached the target mountain, the force split into seven units and formed a complete contain around the base.

On the bridge of the G1, Cornelia and her knights went over the battle plan one last time.

"Even though we know this well enough to recite it in our sleep, our forces will split into seven units and surround the JLF's main base. As we push up the mountain our advance teams will find entrances to their stronghold. Once the entrances have been cleared our elite strike teams will penetrate the enemy base and destroy them from the inside."

"What if enemy forces appear outside our containment zone?" Euphemia asked the Viceroy.

"You mean Zero? The Black Knights are not even a fifth as strong as the JLF. All they have are a man with a mask and a few stolen Sutherlands. I hope they show up here, that way we can exterminate all of these vermin in a single day." Cornelia was practically radiating confidence.

"Your highness, I have just confirmed that we will indeed have two flights of shortswords as close air support."

"Excellent Darlton, that should make spotting their concealed defenses much easier." Darlton moved much closer to Cornelia and whispered.

"I mean no disrespect, your highness, but why is Euphemia here on a battlefield?"

"She was unusually persistant in her request to come along today. Said she wanted to see a real battle. You do have a point though, Darlton, she seems changed after that hostage incident." Cornelia observed as they glanced over at Euphemia.

"Perhaps it was exposure to real combat, Viceroy. By her own account she did engage in a gunfight with the JLF. Maybe she wants another taste of battle." Darlton theorized.

"I really do hope you are wrong for once, Andreas."

Cornelia walked over to her sister around the other side of the G1's holographic display table.

"Euphemia, since you were so eager to come along on this operation, I'm placing you in charge of the G1 and a reserve armored unit. I need you to protect our field hospitals that will be setup at the edge of the battlefield. Under no circumstances are you to leave them defenseless. Is that clear?'

"Yes, Viceroy. I understand perfectly."

* * *

The Black Knights had successfully reached the summit of the mountain undetected. Special advance teams silenced every patrol on the route their convoy of trucks used. Zero then Geassed the captured patrols to ignore their presence and report as if everything was normal to the command center underground.

The Black Knights' assault force began preparing for the battle. 39 knightmares, five prototype tanks, seven automated drilling devices, and over 200 infantrymen moved into their positions and began waiting for the signal to move. The drilling machines began digging into the mountain side.

"Hey Zero! What are the drills for? We digging a tunnel or something?" Tamaki yelled as he approached Zero's knightmare. After Kallen transitioned to the Guren, Zero adopted her reliable old Glasgow and painted it black with a red head and hands.

"Look down, Tamaki, and tell me what you see."

"The ground? Dirt?" Zero visibly looked down toward the ground.

"I see a weapon. A big, powerful, weapon."

"Whatcha mean, Zero? How's the dirt a weapon?"

"The Britannian army does not include digging in their training program. I wonder how long it will take them to dig their way out of a million tons of dirt and rock."

"We're going to hit them with a landslide?" Kallen asked as she walked up to them, amazed at the idea.

"Landslide sounds far too small. We are going to bury them with an avalanche of Japanese earth."

"How? We don't have nearly enough explosives to collapse a mountain."

"Those drills are breaking into deposits of groundwater. Your Guren's radiation claw will provide more than enough heat to boil it, Kallen."

"That dangerous mind of yours is just scary, Zero. The whole world is lucky you're not fighting for Britannia." Zero chuckled under his mask, fully aware of just how lucky the world really was.

* * *

"All forces, commence operation!"

At the sound of Viceroy Cornelia's order, all Britannian units broke cover and began advancing on the base of the mountain. Cornelia and her knights launched their Gloucesters from the G1's twin catapults and took their assigned positions throughout the attacking force. As the knightmares pushed up the rough terrain on the flanks, infantry and heavy armor began advancing through the forest on the mountain's southern slope.

* * *

A thin blue line of Britannian infantry, backed up by two Panther tanks moved out of the woods and into a clearing on the slope. They moved slowly through the knee high grass, constantly searching for the enemy that was surely waiting for them.

437 meters in front of the lead Britannian infantryman, a single Japanese sniper sat in a well concealed tree perch. She watched them through her scope, using the rifle's laser rangefinder to keep an accurate read of their position. The JLF knew that the base would be found eventually, and had prepared a powerful array of hidden defenses along the slopes. The trigger to one such defensive weapon was sitting next to the sniper's rifle.

The lead soldier in the Britannian advance through the clearing moved cautiously. The sounds of heavy combat could be heard from both the left and right. Reports of enemy Glasgow type knightmares were pouring over the network from other units on the mountain. He glanced behind him to see the rest of his squad, rifles and anti armor weapons sweeping the terrain for any sign of the enemy. They approached the middle of the clearing.

On the other side, the sniper picked up the remote and switched it on. She watched patiently as the Britannians reached the center of the field. Just as they began to move onto the second half, she smiled and mashed in the button.

All along the field there were a series of muffled explosions. Silver metal spheres shot up out of the ground to mid chest height. Before the Britannians could even begin to move, the spheres detonated, spewing out a lethal storm of hot metal fragments. The remote detonated mines shredded the exposed infantry, hot metal cutting through flesh and bone as if it were warm ice cream. The mines were not as lethal as intended however. Although severely wounded, many of the Britannians survived the attack thanks to the protection of their body armor over vital organs.

The squad leader took multiple hits on the exposed areas of his arms and legs. He began to feel cold as blood poured out of his leg wounds. He heard a scream of agony to his right and turned to see one of his heavy weapons specialists, a rather beautiful blonde woman, missing half of her left arm. She looked back at him, her eyes pleading for help, when suddenly, her head snapped to the left, a large jet of blood and brain matter spraying out in front of it. Half a second later his ears registered a distant rifle shot. It was the last thing he would ever hear.

The sniper shifted her crosshairs from her second target to another survivor, and then another. Spent rounds rolled off the floor of the tree perch and to the leaves below. Ten rounds later she reloaded and picked up a laser designator. The laser beam painted the nearest Panther tank and a rocket shot out of the ground on the edge of the field high into the sky before reversing and destroying the tank with its top attack munition. She repeated the action and destroyed the second tank before looking over at her spotter who was busy relaying a report of enemy casualties. He looked back and smiled at her. The smile evaporated as five enemy Sutherlands entered the clearing from the west.

* * *

Lieutenant Ericsson and her squad of Sutherlands surveyed the damage. Two burning Panthers and over 30 dead infantry littered the field. She activated her factsphere sensor and selected thermal imaging before scanning the opposite treeline. Her unit detected a heat source in a tree 328 meters away. Rachel and two of her squadmates raised their Sutherlands' KAR 25 rifles, adjusted for elevation, and fired generous bursts at the target heat source. 25 mm HE rounds detonated on and around the target, cutting several trees down in the process. Satisfied that the threat was eliminated, she lead her squad on to their next objective.

* * *

On the left flank of the Britannian advance, things were moving along smoothly. JLF infantry and armor tried in vain to slow the attacking forces led by Cornelia herself. Cornelia, Guilford, and two of her other knightmare pilots pushed through the forest on the right flank of their division's main engagement zone in order to flank the enemy. Cornelia's main display beeped and a red threat indicator appeared in front of her.

The ground opened up before the Gloucesters to reveal a large, camouflaged elevator containing three Burai type knightmares.

"Well that's pretty clever of those Elevens. They turned the whole mountain into a fortress."

"Be careful, your highness. We don't know how well those enemy units perform yet." Guilford cautioned her.

"Guilford, do you really believe that these Elevens can come up with advanced knightmares, let alone pilot them well enough to challenge me?"

"Just concerned about your safety, your highness." Guilford replied.

"And while I appreciate that you care, my knight, please get out of my way." Guilford strafed out of Cornelia's path and she redlined her Gloucester, pushing its speed to the limit as she closed on the Burais. They turned and opened fire on her in unison, but were simply not fast enough. Cornelia dodged the bursts of incoming 25mm fire and brought her golden lance up. The four wing blades extended from the main shaft as she made contact with the first Burai. The lance punctured its way through the enemy unit, and the wing blades sliced into the right arm and leg.

She continued right through the destroyed knightmare and lunged at the second, her lance penetrating the main power supply and causing the Burai to explode. Cornelia brought the lance down low as she sped toward the last Burai. An upward thrust punched through the cockpit block and killed the pilot. Before she could withdraw her lance from the disabled unit, multiple tracer rounds flew past her, revealing the presence of additional enemy forces.

Four more Burai units charged out of the forest at her royal purple Gloucester. The Goddess of Victory turned to face them with the Burai still speared on her lance. Holding the disabled unit in front of her as a shield with her right arm, she reached for the KAR 25 rifle magnetically clamped to the side of her cockpit with the left hand. Incoming enemy rounds detonated on the Burai as she fired over the unit's shoulder. Cornelia's streams of accurate fire destroyed three of the enemy units and disabled another.

She withdrew the now bloodstained lance from the third Burai's cockpit and moved over to the crippled unit. The Japanese pilot fired his slash harken, more as a final act of defiance than a real attack. The Second Princess effortlessly blocked the move with her lance before driving it through the seventh Burai's cockpit. Feeling emboldened by her easy victory, she activated an open channel.

"Is there no one else? Is there no one else brave enough to challenge the Goddess of Victory?" a full minute passed with no response, and then finally there was one who would dare to face her.

"The Order of Black Knights are happy to accept your challenge, your highness." A familiar voice burst forth from the radio.

"I don't believe it. You really did show up, Zero. You really have quite the death wish, don't you?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not here because I want to duel you, Cornelia. I'm here because the very Japanese soil you stand on demands justice for Britannia's atrocities. However, being the reasonable man I am, I will give you one chance to surrender."

"Surrender to an Eleven? I'd rather serve my brother Schneizel in a maid costume for a week."

"I'll take that as a no, Viceroy." Cornelia saw Zero turn his head to face another screen in his cockpit. "Use number three, Q1. I want to see the look on her face when you do."

* * *

A short distance away from Zero stood the Guren near the auto drillers. The red knightmare walked over to the drill marked with a big yellow 3 and grasped the top of it with its massive silver claw. The claw's fingers were so sharp that even that motion was enough to slice into the drill's exterior.

"Output confirmed, activating radiation claw." Kallen announced over the Black Knights' primary frequency. She flipped a cover off of the switch on her right control stick's thumb button and slammed it down. The small screen above the controls showed a heat surge in excess of 3600C. A blast of hellish crimson light erupted from the palm of the Guren's claw. The energy quickly traveled down the drill shaft and into the deposit of groundwater in the mountainside. The drilling unit melted apart as the radiation burst faded.

Thirteen seconds passed in total silence as everyone waited to see the result. On the fourteenth second the ground began to shake and rumble as the boiling water broke the mountain apart. A massive avalanche of dirt, rock, trees, and anything else caught in its path sped down the south slope. The gigantic surge smashed into the conflicting forces on the mountainside, destroying nearly two entire Britannian divisions along with the few remaining JLF units opposing them. The perfectly timed landslide crushed and buried 49 of Britannia's 116 knightmares, significantly evening the conflict.

Most commanders would begin to worry if they saw almost a third of their force wiped out in an instant, but not Cornelia. She began to boil with rage, angered that so many of her solders were wiped out by such an elaborate trap. She quickly examined her display that showed their real time positioning. The Britannian force was effectively split in two. Of the remaining forces, the left flank, led by Cornelia herself, was the stronger of the two units. She began to rally her forces for a counterattack.

* * *

At the base of the mountain on the edge of the battlefield, Euphemia and the G1's command crew watched with surprise as they saw a large portion of their force go down in seconds. Euphemia herself was not surprised to see an artificial landslide, her brother told her of it on the phone hours earlier, but rather at the amazing effectiveness it had. She knew that the landslide was Zero's signal for her to carry out her part of the plan. Euphemia took a very deep breath as she pulled a phone from her pocket. To work with Zero against terrorists could be considered a move of desperation, to work with Zero against her own people was clear treason, something she had spent the morning preparing herself for. She began dialing a number as she exhaled.

* * *

A kilometer away from the G1 stood the thirteen remaining members of the Purist faction. Most of them had their cockpits open, being positioned so far from the actual combat there was little risk. Jeremiah and Viletta watched the massive landslide from their safe distance. Even this far away the sight was still awe inspiring.

"What the hell?" Viletta asked to Jeremiah on her right.

"I'm not sure Viletta, although it does seem rather convenient for the JLF."

"You think they intentionally destroyed their base?" She asked her superior.

"It's a possibility, but I doubt it. That landslide almost certainly hit the JLF forces on that side of the mountain, and the JLF aren't known for sacrificing their own men like that." Jeremiah's phone began vibrating in his pocket. "Huh? Who would be calling me in the middle of an operation?" He fished the phone from his uniform and answered. "Hello?"

"It is now the most opportune moment, Jeremiah." A voice he did not expect to hear told him.

"Euphemia?" Jeremiah's voice betrayed his surprise at receiving Zero's signal to backstab the Britannian forces from Euphemia.

"The JLF's electronic warfare measures prevent him from contacting us directly. He informed me this morning that the landslide would be the signal."

There was no doubt that she was indeed with Zero, there was no other way for her to know to say that phrase. "Understood, your highness." Jeremiah replied.

"Take your Sutherlands and attack the G1's point defenses and the mobile artillery unit in front of us. I'll handle the G1 from within." The princess commanded him.

"Understood, we are moving out now." Jeremiah put the phone away and called out to Viletta and their 11 Geassed subordinates. "All forces prepare for battle, we have received confirmation and our objectives."

"Jeremiah, what's happening?" Viletta asked as she started up her Sutherland.

"Apparently Euphemia is working with Lelouch as well. She gave me the correct signal and ordered us to attack the G1 and the nearby artillery unit."

"He's turned Euphemia as well? Is there anything the Black Prince cannot do?"

"I would say he can't fly, but he would grow wings just to prove me wrong." Jeremiah switched to the Purists' channel. "You men are to destroy the G1's guarding unit and point defenses, then assist us with any remaining artillery."

"Yes, my lord." All eleven Purists replied in unison, their eyes emitting a faint red glow.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" One of the G1's command crew members asked with shock on his face as thirteen blue and red Sutherlands began attacking the G1. The G1's three guarding Sutherlands and four Panther tanks were no match for Jeremiah's assault. They quickly fell to the attacking force who now redirected their attack against the G1's defense turrets.

"Damn those Purist traitors to hell!" Another of the command crew yelled as the bridge began shaking.

Behind the commanders, Euphemia's eyes began to glow bright crimson as the moment of action arrived. The Geass worked overtime to give her the strength to actually do it. She reached under the back of her dress and produced a small concealed pistol. As the commanders argued over a course of action, the princess behind them took careful aim.

"My brother needs me to be strong now, there's no turning back." She said to herself in a low voice as her finger tightened around the trigger. She squeezed the trigger and a single round exited the barrel, accompanied by a loud bang. Euphemia's bullet hit the middle of the three commanders in the back of the head. As a large portion of his brain sprayed out over the holographic table the other two turned to see their princess holding a smoking gun. They stood speechless, their brains simply not capable comprehending the idea that they were being betrayed by royalty. Euphemia shot the second commander in the chest, two bullets tearing through his internal organs. The third man took a bullet in the neck, shattering his spine.

Euphemia again reached under her dress to the magazines attached to her inner thighs. She finished reloading the pistol just as a fully armed and armored soldier came into the room, alarmed by the gunfire.

She immediately started shooting at him. Three rounds were stopped by his armor, but the fourth ricocheted into his right arm, forcing him to lose grip on the rifle he was carrying. She fired two more shots, one striking the upper portion of his chest armor, the second finding a nice new home inside his neck. Euphemia advanced on him as he crumpled to the floor. The glow in her eyes faded slightly as the act of killing became more familiar to her.

"I can really do this." She said to herself as her confidence grew. She stripped the body of his assault rifle and three additional magazines, a total of 200 rounds, and exited the bridge. She made her way down three hallways toward the knightmare bay. As she ran into the fourth she came across five fully armed soldiers. There was not a chance in hell that she could actually beat them five against one, so Euphemia fell back on something she had sixteen years of practice doing. Acting like an innocent, scared girl. She needed to be convincing. Euphemia fired a ten round burst down the last hallway and started running toward the soldiers.

"Your highness! What the hell is going on?" The sergeant asked as his men readied their rifles.

"We're under attack! JLF soldiers are trying to capture me! Take your men and go after them at once!" She ordered in her most convincing voice.

"Understood, your highness!" The five soldiers moved around the corner and out of sight. Euphemia let out a giggle.

"I can't believe they really fell for that." She continued the remaining two halls down to the upper deck of the knightmare bay. The door slid open and she looked around. Three knightmares were visible in the bay, two Sutherlands and a Gloucester. Euphemia ran across the catwalk toward the purple Gloucester's open cockpit. No longer caring about accuracy in her rush toward her final destination, Euphemia raised her rifle and sprayed the pilot and two technicians while running. Of the 40 rounds she fired, only seven managed to hit her targets. The pilot and one technician were killed, the other tech was severely injured.

Euphemia grabbed the knightmare's blood soaked key from the hands of the dead pilot and jumped into the cockpit just as a squad of infantry emerged onto the catwalk and opened fire at what they perceived to be a JLF soldier stealing their knightmare. The rounds harmlessly pinged off of the cockpit block's armor as Euphemia inserted the key and activated the Gloucester. She exhaled in relief to see that the unit was fully charged and armed. The pilot she shot must have been about to take it back to the fight.

One of the two Sutherlands in the bay came to life and deployed its stun tonfas before charging forward at her. In the confined space of the knightmare bay, there was no room to evade. Euphemia brought up the golden lance with her right arm and lunged forward at the incoming Sutherland. With no room to move the Sutherland easily fell as the Gloucester's lance pierced right through the Yggdrasil drive and right into the pilot behind. The unit exploded, clearing the way for her escape. There was no time to setup the catapult to launch her knightmare, so Euphemia simply drove it down the tunnel and out onto the G1's exterior. She opened a channel to the Purists who were mopping up Britannian resistance outside.

"Jeremiah, I stole a Gloucester and I'm coming to you. Don't shoot me." Euphemia broadcast to them.

"You stole a Gloucester? I was not aware that you knew how to pilot a knightmare, your highness."

"It's been over a year since my last time. My sister taught me the basics back when she was testing the Gloucester's prototype."

"Try to stay behind us, princess. Although your unit has superior armor to a Sutherland, it would be wise to avoid direct combat if possible."

"You know your way around a battlefield much better than I do. I'll follow your lead, Jeremiah. What's the situation out here?"

"We did exactly as you ordered, your highness, although I did lose three Sutherlands in the process. What are your next orders?"

"Destroy the G1. Then we need to get to my brother."

"Understood, your highness." Jeremiah complied.

* * *

Cornelia, along with Darlton had by this time regrouped their forces and were launching a counterattack up the mountain. Their 51 knightmares obliterated the remaining JLF defenses in their path as they pushed toward the summit.

Cornelia rushed forward toward two JLF Burai knightmares who were the last remaining point of resistance in their path. Using trees and the slope as cover she closed the distance and jumped up onto the outcropping they were firing from. The JLF units tried to turn and engage, but the dangerous amount of adrenaline coursing through Cornelia's veins made her inhumanly fast. She fired her slash harkens toward the second knightmare before she even hit the ground. The twin anchors dug into the Burai's knees. She retracted the harkens and pulled the far Burai into the closer one, knocking both to the ground. Cornelia's lance came down in a blur and penetrated the cockpit of the first Burai.

The second pilot hit the eject mechanism and his cockpit was propelled up the cliff at a weird angle until it smashed into a large boulder. The JLF pilot opened his hatch and tried to run, but the vengeful Second Princess was upon him before he made it ten meters. Cornelia brought her right arm back and delivered a powerful thrust, spearing the man on the end of her lance through the torso. She planted the base into the ground and watched as he convulsed on her spear, blood pouring down the lance head. As his body struggled to breath with his half missing lungs, she raised her KAR 25 rifle with the Gloucester's left hand and brought the barrel to a rest on the man's head. Cornelia clicked in her left thumb button and the weapon fired a single shot, reducing the suffering JLF pilot's head and neck to a red mist.

As a squad of Sutherlands caught up with her to the right, a soul piercing scream echoed through the forest. In a flash, what appeared to be a beam of light destroyed two Sutherlands and continued on down the mountain, the pilots unable to eject. Cornelia activated her factsphere sensor and enhanced the zoom as far as it would go toward the beam's origin. At the top of the mountain she saw a black machine resembling a tank with a very large main cannon. She watched as a blue glow appeared in the barrel of the weapon before a massive flash blinded her view. Another Sutherland was instantly destroyed by the vehicle's weapon.

"All forces take cover, there's some kind of powerful sniper weapon at the top of the mountain!"

* * *

Looking down from the summit, Inoue retargetted her Naginata's railgun as the weapon once again reached full charge. As she pulled the trigger, another massive plasma blast erupted from the barrel as the 30mm projectile raced forward at hypersonic speeds directly into another enemy Sutherland. The ground in front of the railgun was burned to a glassy surface as the extreme heat of the plasma washed over it.

"Inoue, give me an update." Zero's voice asked over the radio.

"We have the Britannians pinned down with our railguns, sir." She reported.

"We are beginning our assault, check your targets before you engage."

"Understood, Zero."

* * *

All thirty nine of the Black Knights' knightmares came down off of the summit to engage the Britannians in direct combat. As both sides opened fire on each other, the Guren sprinted ahead of the main force, directly into the Britannian formation. Kallen jumped into the air as she approached the lead Sutherlands. From above, she delivered a powerful slash with her claw on the nearest enemy knightmare, the incredibly sharp weapon easily slicing through the head and into the cockpit. As the next Sutherland turned to fire, she was close, but slightly out of reach. Kallen activated the arm's extension mechanism and the claw shot forward another two meters, slicing the KAR 25 and the Sutherland's right arm off.

She turned and engaged a third target with her left arm's integrated 30mm autocannon as the Black Knights arrived at her position. The combined fire of her autocannon, and the 25mm rifles of two knightmares next to her made short work of their target. Kallen looked over and identified the two supporting units as Zero and CC.

On the other side of the battle, Cornelia unleashed her fury one one enemy after another. Just as with the JLF, she charged forward and attempted to engage the Black Knights with her lance. However, unlike the JLF, the Black Knights were more coordinated in their defense. Cornelia fired her slash harkens into a nearby boulder and pulled herself out of the line of fire as three black Sutherlands came to the assistance of the two Burais she had targeted. The farthest Sutherland exploded and the remaining two turned to engage a new threat.

"Thanks for the assist, Darlton."

"These Black Knights are really on another level compared to the JLF. I actually need to try this time."

Darlton fired his Gloucester's recoilless rifle again with equally destructive results as Cornelia once again moved in on the two Burai units. She strained against the G forces as her unit moved violently to dodge enemy fire at point blank range. Cornelia's lance struck the first black Burai in the waist, forcing the pilot to eject. She shoved the remainder of the frame toward the second Burai. As the black unit attempted to get out of the way she hosed it with 25mm fire, ripping the Burai apart with dozens of hits at close range.

"Viceroy, we need assistance!" a loud call for help blared out of her radio.

"Slow down and tell me what the hell is going on."

"12 Enemy knightmares are attacking us from behind! Most of the G1's defenses have been destroyed, and the unit of Panthers I sent to relieve them are being wiped out!"

"Princess Euphemia is in danger, your highness." Guilford added over the channel.

"You two go protect the G1 and rescue Euphemia. I can hold the Black Knights here, Viceroy." Darlton joined in.

"Very well, Darlton, I suppose we don't have any choice. Guilford, follow me!"

As Cornelia and Guilford began moving down the mountain, the Black Knights intensified their assault. The five Naginata tanks that were previously perched at the top of the mountain moved down toward the battle on the forested slope. They moved in tight formation down towards the Black Knights' left flank. Three Britannian Sutherlands who were unfortunate enough to attempt a flanking attack on the enemy's left side came face to face with the five Naginatas. Even without the time to deploy they still had their twin 105mm cannons. All five of the tanks opened fire on the approaching Sutherlands. Multiple 105mm shells detonated on the two closest Sutherlands, forcing the pilots to eject. The third Sutherland returned fire with its 25mm rifle as the tanks' autoloaders readied the cannons for another volley. The Sutherland scored over a dozen hits on the frontal armor of the lead Naginata, tearing chunks out of it', but still not able to penetrate. The Sutherland pilot met a fiery end as ten 105mm HEAT rounds converged on the unit's frontal armor. The tanks continued on to a good spot and deployed their railguns in support of the knightmares below.

Down on the receiving end stood General Darlton and the force he was now leading alone. Although they had managed to destroy 14 enemy knightmares, the Britannians were finding themselves unable to withstand the Black Knights' assault. They were down to 29 operational knightmares on the slope, and Darlton correctly calculated that they would lose the battle at this rate. The explosion of a nearby Sutherland from a direct railgun hit acted as the bold period on the sentence in his mind. As Darlton ordered his remaining units into a better defensive formation he saw a flash of red moving right for him.

Kallen had correctly identified the leader of the Britannian forces on the mountain. She ripped through a Sutherland in her path and charged straight at him. She considered herself lucky that the target Gloucester was not equipped with a lance, but a two handed recoilless rifle. The enemy knightmare fired the weapon, but Kallen had enough room to jump over the incoming round and bring her claw up as she descended. The five fingers sliced the Gloucester's weapon to pieces before it had a chance to reload. The enemy deployed his stun tonfas and attempted to fight back, but the Guren was already upon him. She caught the Gloucester's right arm with her own and launched the claw forward onto him.

Darlton tried everything he could to get out of the enemy's grip, but was unable to escape the silver claw that was dug into the front of his unit. And then in an instant a single Sutherland slammed into the red knightmare at full speed, knocking his opponent off. The Sutherland's IFF tag identified it as belonging to Lieutenant Ericsson. Despite the initial shock of the impact, the red knightmare easily recovered and sliced through the Lieutenant's Sutherland's arms. She picked up the armless unit with the powerful claw and slammed it into Darlton's Gloucester, knocking both to the ground, one on top of the other. As the silver claw gripped onto the top knightmare, Ericsson opened a channel to Darlton.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop that monster, sir."

"Don't feel sorry, Lieutenant. You tried you best, I could not ask for anything more."

" It has been an honor to serve, my lord."

"And It has been an honor to command such brave warriors. What is your name, Lieutenant?"

They both felt an immense heat as the radiation surger activated.

"Rachel, my lord."

"Well Rachel, if they have bars in heaven I'll be buying you a drink." Darlton saw her smile as tears fell from her eyes before the feed cut out. The radiation surge proved too much for even two stacked knightmares to handle. The crimson light burned through Rachel's Sutherland, through Darlton's Gloucester, and melted the ground below.

* * *

Near the bottom of the mountain Cornelia watched the battle unfold on her display as she and Guilford raced to the G1. Her eyes widened as she saw Darlton fall, and then the remainder of her forces begin to fall around him. A single tear fell from her right eye as the realization that her friend was dead hit her. Then in an instant her world slowed to a crawl and her heart nearly gave out as she saw the G1 explode. Eight Sutherlands ceased firing on the now destroyed command center and turned to attack them.

Cornelia found herself unable to speak, unable to think, unable to do anything but transform into worldly incarnation of pure rage. She had just seen her beloved sister die, and her killers were right in front of her. Cornelia pushed her Gloucester to its absolute speed limit as she charged toward the eight knightmares. Guilford was screaming something at her over the radio but she could not hear. The enemy pilots did not have the reaction time required to track her insane speed. Cornelia's golden lance contacted the nearest Sutherland, going all the way through and cutting it in half. She fluidly turned and fired her rifle on full auto at the next target. The Sutherland exploded before she could even reach it and she charged right through the debris and fireball to spear the third before firing her slash harkens into the fourth unit. The anchors dug into the Sutherland's armor and she used her momentum to flail the unit into the side of the burning G1 before driving her lance through the cockpit with an excessive amount of force.

Cornelia had been so blinded by her rage that she did not even notice the Sutherlands firing at her from behind. Explosive rounds tore large chunks out of her royal purple armor just as Guilford arrived to engage the attackers. His own 25mm rounds ripping through one enemy unit as he closed to use his lance on another. Cornelia turned around and raised her left arm to absorb the incoming rounds as she charged at the last two Sutherlands. Their fire managed to destroy her left arm and the rifle along with it, but that was not enough to save them from Cornelia's lance.

Guilford looked at her through the channel that was still open. Cornelia shed a single tear for her friend Darlton, but she shed rivers for her sister. Tears poured out of her eyes as if someone turned on a faucet. Tears escaped Guilford's eyes as well. Being Cornelia's knight he spent a lot of time with Euphemia. To Guilford she was less a princess and more of a sister.

To make her day exponentially worse, A group of Black Knights appeared from the forest at the base of the mountain. Zero, Kallen, and two other black knightmares approached them. Cornelia turned to face them, her once spotless and shiny knightmare now dirty, damaged, and even more intimidating with the burning wrecks of Sutherlands surrounding her. Zero was the first to speak.

"I was wondering what made you leave the main battle, Cornelia. It would appear that those Purists did more damage than I anticipated. Although I am curious as to why you would abandon your army to save a command center."

"You killed my sister, Zero!" Cornelia said as the deadly combination of sorrow, sadness, and rage reached a boiling point inside her. "You killed Euphemia you fucking monster!" She screamed with malice as she charged right at them, clearly not caring about the fact that she was outnumbered and her knightmare was damaged. The Guren stepped in front of Zero's custom Glasgow as he calmly replied.

"Was that really all it took to defeat the great Cornelia? Had I known that your sister's life was the key to my victory I would have shot her myself." Zero glanced down at his tactical display and saw three friendly signatures making a wide loop back toward his position's right flank. Lelouch felt relieved as he continued his taunting. "Perhaps I would have shot her in the legs and thrown her off my boat on Lake Kawaguchi. The look on your face as you watched your sister drown would have been absolutely priceless." He kept going, his words laced with malice.

Cornelia could not find words to throw back at him. She thrust her lance at the Guren, who deflected it with the silver claw before spinning to her side and grabbing onto the Gloucester's remaining arm. From the palm came a blast of concentrated hell that easily melted through the arm and burned the paint off of the entire right side of the knightmare.

Guilford charged forward in a desperate attempt to help her. The Guren shifted its attention from Cornelia's barely functioning wreck of a knightmare to Guilford's fully functional Gloucester. Although furious at Euphemia's death, Guilford's was not blinded by absolute rage. His hot anger was backed up with cold, calculated precision as he rushed forward. He knew with certainty that there was not a chance in hell that he could single handedly defeat the array of enemies in front of him. Instead of being driven by the goal of victory, he was motivated by his fanatical loyalty to Cornelia. He would gladly defend his princess to his dying breath.

Blasts of flame erupted from his Gloucester's assault rifle as he closed the distance to the Guren. The Black Knights stood by and watched as Kallen activated her radiation surger in the line of fire. The extreme heat and radiation detonated the explosive rounds as they approached the red wave emanating from the Guren's claw, effectively acting as a shield. Just as Guilford prepared to thrust his lance at the Guren, a hypersonic projectile came screaming in from behind the cloud of black smoke near the burning G1. The powerful pressure wave ripped the cloud apart as it passed through the space that the Guren occupied less than half a second earlier and continued into an idle Burai that was observing the fight. Through the smoke and fire appeared the white knight, Lancelot. With a Varis rifle in his right hand, and a glowing red MVS sword in his left, he charged toward the battle.

"The Special Corps? Who ordered you to deploy?" Cornelia's voice filled Suzaku's cockpit.

"I was not given any orders, your highness. I watched and waited as we were defeated again and again. I cannot stand aside and watch them kill you too."

"You do realize you are violating direct orders, right Kururugi?" Guilford's voice then asked.

"And I will gladly take responsibility for my actions, assuming we win. That red knightmare is too strong for your Gloucester. Let me handle that one while you deal with Zero and the others, my lord."

"Very well then, Warrant Officer Kururugi, although I could never have imagined the day I would be taking orders from a Number."

Suzaku's Lancelot charged the Guren at high speed, much faster than a Gloucester. She had no choice but to turn and fight the greater threat. As the Guren and Lancelot engaged each other, Guilford and Cornelia turned to face the Glasgow and Sutherland. Zero and CC, the remaining Sutherland pilot, began exchanging fire with the two Gloucesters. With neither of their knightmares being equipped for sustained melee combat, Zero and CC were at a significant disadvantage against the expertly controlled Gloucester.

Zero and CC both began firing at Cornelia instead of Guilford. Cornelia fired back with the only weapon she had left, her two slash harkens. Both of which missed as 25mm rounds slammed into her unit, blasting large pieces of the left leg off and destroying the left land spinner. Zero's gamble paid off as Guilford abandoned his charge to shield the now defenseless Cornelia. He charged forward again, directly through their line of fire, with his lance in front of him in a position to shield his unit from the incoming rounds. As intended, the lance took the majority of the fire as he lunged at Zero's Glasgow.

Zero fired his slash harkens and thrust his assault rifle forward as a shield. As Guilford dodged the anchors he lost the most effective angle of attack. The lance impacted the assault rifle instead of the Glasgow. Zero used the slightest window of opportunity to thrust the assault rifle away from him while the lance was still penetrating it, deflecting the blow and getting inside the lance's minimum range. The Glasgow attempted to deliver a left handed punch, but the Guilford was faster, bringing his right arm off of the lance to block the attack.

At the same time, CC's Sutherland rushed forward with its stun tonfas. Guilford used his Gloucester's superior size and strength to push the Glasgow away as he redirected his lance to the new attacker. CC blocked the first thrust with the tonfas, the lance destroying them in the process. She hit the gas and accelerated toward the Gloucester, intent on using her Sutherland in a kamikaze fashion. Guilford predicted what was happening and rushed forward to meet her charge, lance first. The golden tip penetrated right through the frontal armor of the black Sutherland, though the Yggdrasil drive, and out the back of the cockpit block. CC's unit exploded as she intended, but the Gloucester's armor was able to withstand the damage.

Guilford turned his now scarred knightmare back toward Zero's damaged Glasgow. Despite his best efforts not to, he managed to repeat Cornelia's earlier mistake of becoming tunnel visioned. Zero looked at his display and opened a channel to Guilford, smiling under his mask.

"Checkmate. I win Guilford."

Before he had a chance to laugh, alarms began going off in his cockpit as a torrent of 25mm rounds landed around him from behind. Guilford turned to see two Sutherlands and a Gloucester advancing on him from the rear. As he reached for his assault rifle to return fire, he saw the Gloucester toss its lance to one of the Sutherlands, who caught it before accelerating toward him ahead of the other two. The Gloucester and second Sutherland stopped firing as the lead one closed on him. Guilford brought his lance up and charged to meet the approaching unit.

Jeremiah Gottwald was no stranger to close combat. He raised his own golden lance to parry the incoming thrust from the enemy Gloucester. As Guilford recovered, Jeremiah launched his slash harkens before transitioning into another lance attack. Unlike Guilford, who had been engaged in heavy combat for the better part of five hours, Jeremiah was relatively fresh, and more responsive.

Zero considered opening a channel to thank Jeremiah for his wonderful timing, but decided against it. Distracting him at a time like this was not worth the risk. He turned and looked back toward where Kallen was fighting the Lancelot. They both moved with such incredible speed. Every thrust, every slash, and every shot conducted with such precision and skill, yet they were unable to score any significant hits on each other. Both ace pilots had such perfect defense. He watched in amazement as Kallen fired her wrist mounted 30mm autocannon at the Lancelot. Suzaku activated his Blaze Luminous bracers to block the incoming rounds while instantly returning fire with his Varis rifle. On the low power setting he was using, the weapon could charge and fire a round every second.

Kallen brought up her Guren's silver claw and activated the radiation surger to block the Varis rounds. On the setting it was on, the Varis was not able to penetrate the energy in front of the claw. The shells vaporized under the heat and radiation. As the last round burned up on her makeshift shield she opened a channel to Zero.

"I can't keep this up! The Guren will run out of energy before I can beat him, Zero."

She was not alone. Everyone except Suzaku had been deployed for hours, and the strain was showing in their energy levels. At the pace they were fighting at, the battle would end soon, with the loser being whoever ran out of power first.

"Get away from him Kallen. We can win if we capture Cornelia, everything else is secondary."

The Guren began to speed away from the Lancelot in reverse, using her radiation claw to block the Varis rounds that she was unable to dodge. As the red knightmare approached Cornelia's practically destroyed Gloucester, The Second Princess instantly examined her tactical options.

Her knight, Guilford, was fully engaged in an intense duel with an enemy Sutherland, She was now in the Lancelot's line of fire, and her own knightmare was barely capable of moving, much less fighting.

"Your highness you have to eject! I cannot risk hitting you with the Varis." Suzaku's voice came though her internal speakers.

As much as she hated to admit it, Suzaku was right. The only options available to Cornelia were eject or die. She knew that it would not be a heroic death in battle, but an execution, by a Number no less. Given that choice, Cornelia chose to live. She slammed the eject switch at her side. The cockpit block's rockets launched the core off from the main body, over the Guren, and deployed its parachutes. She landed very close to the Lancelot, who was once again firing the Varis as he attempted to rescue her.

Kallen turned and charged at Guilford, frustrated that her target had ejected to safety. Guilford, who was still engaged in melee combat with the Sutherland in front of him, realized he would be screwed if the red knightmare reached him. He ejected as well, the remainder of his Gloucester falling to the ground before Jeremiah.

Guilford's cockpit block landed near the Lancelot as well. Suzaku raised his left shield and the Varis rifle in anticipation of the Black Knights' attack, but it never came. The enemy units began to fall back toward the mountain. He didn't have long to wonder why, as his sensors detected 21 knightmares and four tanks clearing the treeline at the base of the mountain. Suzaku took the opportunity to retrieve them and escape before the Black Knights were able to regroup.

* * *

"Why did we let them get away?" Ougi asked from the open cockpit of his Sutherland. The Black Knights were moving away from the battle zone toward their exit points. To his left, Zero turned to face him from the seat of his own open cockpit.

"Our units were all running out of energy. We would not have had the time to replace the fillers and give chase before the Lancelot escaped. Regardless, we achieved a significant victory here today. A Britannian army has been annihilated, and Cornelia's aura of invincibility has been shattered. We did more than enough damage to them."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Zero. But why was Cornelia screaming over the radio about you killing her sister?"

"Princess Euphemia was on board the G1 that our allies destroyed." Zero revealed, much to Ougi's surprise since he had personally rescued her at Kawaguchi.

"Allies?"

"I managed to convince most of the Purist faction that fighting for Britannia was not in their best interest. They attacked the enemy from behind." He explained.

"You convinced the Purist faction to kill Euphemia? Is there anything you can't do?"

"Is there? I would be surprised if Cornelia wasn't contemplating suicide right now. We handed her the greatest defeat of her life, and made her believe her sister was killed. For someone so accustomed to absolute victory, I wonder if she can handle so much defeat."

"What do you mean that we made her believe Euphemia was killed, Zero? We could see the G1 explode from the top of the mountain."

"A little bit of good acting goes a long way, Ougi." Zero responded.

Before Ougi could think of how to respond, the Gloucester from earlier rolled up next to them. Zero looked to his right as the purple knightmare's cockpit opened. As the seat slid back into the fresh air, the golden evening light reflected off of the mass of pink hair.

"That was a most impressive performance, Euphie." Euphemia turned and gifted them with the sight of her beautiful smile as they literally rode off into the sunset.


	8. Agonizing Deception

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

The Battle of Narita was officially over. Britannian forces had been all but annihilated by the Black Knights with JLF support. At the base of the north slope under camo netting, sat the Black Knights' trucks they had used to transport their knightmares. This was their final exit point, where all remaining forces would assemble before heading back to Tokyo.

As the remaining Black Knights began pouring into the area they began prepping the their knightmares and tanks for transport. Inoue drove her Naginata into one of the trailers, behind another tank. As she exited the vehicle she ran into Tamaki, who was overseeing the loading process.

"Where's Zero and Kallen?"

"No clue Inoue, I've never seen them late for anything before." Another Black Knight pointed to a road coming out of the forest.

"Over there!" Tamaki, Inoue, and all other eyes turned to the designated path to see six knightmares, three more than they were expecting, come out of the forest into view. The Black Knights instantly recognized the two black units and the Guren, but the last three wore Britannian shades of blue, purple, and red. As they approached, Tamaki called out to them.

"Hey Zero! Where did you guys get the Brit knightmares?"

"Those frames belong to our allies, Tamaki." Zero replied as he directed the three frames to transport slots left empty from the battle.

"Those don't look like any JLF knightmares I've ever seen."

"Because they aren't the JLF. These three are the remainder of the Britannian defectors that hit them in the back. Each of them did an exceptionally high amount of damage to our enemy."

"Those look like Purist faction Sutherlands." Inoue added in.

"Good eye, Inoue. The entire Purist faction defected to our side during the battle. Cornelia killed most of them at the G1." Zero announced.

"The Purists defected? They hate us, what did you do to change their minds?"

"I have a bad habit of achieving the impossible." Everyone laughed as they finished loading their six knightmares into the two trucks.

"Hey Zero! If the guys in the Sutherlands are Purists, who's in the Gloucester?"

"One of the most damaging traitors in Britannian history, Tamaki. She made our victory possible today." The two Sutherlands' opening cockpits drew the attention of all assembled there. A wave of surprise washed over the Black Knights as they saw Jeremiah Gottwald climb down the tether to the ground.

"You fought well, Jeremiah. I guess Lord Guilford wasn't up to the challenge." Zero greeted.

"The unit guarding the G1 required little effort to defeat, my lord. Guilford, on the other hand, had to fight you all day."

"Are you kidding me, Zero? He's the leader of the Purists!" Tamaki spoke as the single voice of the group's collective worry at what they were seeing.

"Jeremiah saved my life today by engaging Guilford's Gloucester in single combat. He also disabled, and ultimately destroyed the G1 command center. He's as loyal as they get." Zero spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "And besides, Tamaki, the Purist faction no longer exists. They died to make our job that much easier today. Regardless of what you might think about them, you cannot argue with their results."

"Zero's right. All three of them really proved themselves out there today." Kallen supported as she walked up beside him.

"If you say so Kallen, but I still want to know who is in that Gloucester."

The purple Gloucester responded to Inoue's curiosity. There was a metallic click as the locks holding the armor at the rear of the unit's cockpit block disengaged. The heavy door opened and the pilot's seat slid out into the open air. Silence reigned supreme over all who could see, for none of them were prepared for what they saw.

Euphemia li Britannia stood up in her Gloucester's seat, her face illuminated by the last remnants of golden light shining through the trees. She grabbed her assault rifle by the strap and rode the Gloucester's wire down to ground level. Zero broke the minute of silence as she approached him.

"That was a most impressive performance today. You did much more damage than I had envisioned, Euphemia. You almost made this too easy."

"I'm glad that I could actually make a difference for once." The princess replied with a smile.

"Are you kidding me, Zero? The leaders of the Purist faction was already big to swallow, but now you want us to accept royalty? I'm going to choke to death on this one!" Tamaki's mouth fired off faster than most people could think.

"Are you questioning my decision to include Euphemia into the Black Knights?"

"You're damn straight I am! She's a princess! Royalty! Her sister is our greatest enemy!" Tamaki yelled back.

"Wrong, Tamaki. Emperor Charles is our greatest enemy. Cornelia is carrying out his will, not her own, although the two do have some overlap."

"I don't care, she's still the enemy, Zero!" Tamaki reached for his rifle, but found himself staring down five gun barrels before he could even raise it. Zero put his hand up, signaling Jeremiah, Viletta, Kallen, and Euphemia to hold their fire.

"Is she now? Why don't we go over the facts then, Tamaki. Did you provide us with a complete list of Britannian communications codes?" Zero questioned.

"No, Zero."

"Did you provide us with a complete list of the enemy's IFF transponder frequencies?"

"No."

"Did you provide us with Cornelia's complete force deployments, Tamaki?"

"No, I did not Zero."

"How many Britannian commanders did you assassinate today?"

"None." Tamaki was by this point trying very hard to hold back the humiliation he was feeling.

"Well then, it would seem that Euphemia has outdone you in every way possible today, she even has more blood on her hands. Now if you still feel the need to question my decisions without any support, then I would suggest you go join what is left of the JLF over there."

Tamaki didn't move as the Black Knights went back to packing up in silence. He turned to look back at the mountain on the background of pink sky when he heard one set of footsteps approaching him from behind. He expected it to be Kallen, but a different voice sailed into his ears.

"Are you alright? That must have been terribly humiliating." Euphemia's gentle voice asked him.

"I'm fine." He replied in a quick, harsh tone.

"You really don't like me, do you Tamaki?" She gently inquired.

"No, I don't." Tamaki kept telling himself over and over that she was just another Britannian, just another member of a race of monsters. But her gentle nature was forcing him to question that. Euphemia put her hand on his right shoulder.

"It's because of my family, isn't it?"

"Those monsters have done nothing but destroy this country. I will never forgive them. It should be obvious why I don't like you, _princess." _Tamaki replied, trying to hold back his anger.

"It doesn't have to be like that, Tamaki. Think about why you're wearing that uniform. We both want to create a better world, and we both believe that we can do it. That's why we're Black Knights."

As they turned to go to their separate trucks, Tamaki couldn't get her voice out of her head. More specifically, he could not get over the fact that a Britannian princess had just told him something he actually agreed with.

* * *

Seven hours after the final shot was fired at Narita, Euphemia was optimistic about the future, slowly building a relationship with her new allies. Her sister could not have felt more opposite. The very instant that she made it back to her palace atop Tokyo's government headquarters, Cornelia shut herself in her bedroom.

To say that this was the worst day of her life would have been a severe understatement. Cornelia was a winner. No matter what happened, she could always find a way to emerge on top, standing tall above all who dared oppose her. And then Zero broke her legs and threw her down into the mud.

Cornelia had not only suffered the first real defeat of her entire military career, it was absolute. From her entire army, there were only three survivors. And then there were the names of the fallen. General Andreas Darlton, her knight, long time friend, and one of the greatest soldiers she had ever served with stood at the top of the casualty list. Cornelia would have gladly damned every last one of them to an eternity of hell to bring back the one name that was not on the list.

She opened a bottom door on her desk and reached for the bottle of rum, leaving the glass behind. Cornelia rarely drank, it simply interfered with her results driven lifestyle too much. But the rapier that Zero had plunged through her heart delivered a level of suffering she had never before experienced. She pulled the cork and raised the bottle.

Ten minutes later came two knocks at her door. She paid it no attention as the door slowly slid open. Gilbert Guilford, her knight of ten years and the best friend she had ever known quietly walked into the room. He remained silent as he approached the desk. Guilford looked at the assortment of things laying there. A half empty bottle of Bacardi 8, a picture of Euphemia with a shattered frame, a pistol, and one bullet. It took him all of about half a second to see what was going to happen. Guilford looked at the Viceroy's face and saw why.

Cornelia's face was perfect, flawless, and dry. Not a single tear had fallen from her eyes since she had left the battlefield.

"Your highness." Guilford's words provoked no response. He lightly grabbed her hand. "Cornelia." She looked up from the picture and into his eyes. A wave of fear smashed into Guilford as their eyes met. He felt as if he had just seen a million deaths in one second. "You aren't crying." Cornelia looked back down to the picture.

"I failed, Guilford. I couldn't protect her." Cornelia said in a distant, anguished voice. "I..just can't take this anymore."

"Cry. Let the pain out, Cornelia. You can't hold it in like this." Her eyes drifted back to the pistol. "That won't solve anything. It would be no different than if Zero pulled the trigger himself." Guilford walked around and hugged her from behind, resting his head on her left shoulder.

"Guilford..."

"We've been through this before. You felt the same way when Lelouch and Nunnally died."

"They weren't Euphie!" She yelled back at him, making it painfully clear that no life had ever been worth more than Euphemia's. Guilford reached his left arm down under her knees and lifted her from the chair. He nearly lost balance as he did so. Cornelia's tall, strong body was not light, and he had misjudged the effort it would take to lift her. He compensated for the extra weight.

"What are you doing Guilford?" Cornelia asked as surprise gave her a momentary ray of light through her sorrow.

"Helping you, your highness." Guilford gently put her down upon the room's exquisite bed. She just stared back at him in confusion. He sat down next to her and pulled her in.

"Guilford, why are you-" Cornelia began to ask.

"They have taken everyone from us. Clovis, Darlton, Lelouch, Nunnally, Euphemia." Cornelia found her head resting on her knight's chest. "It is just the two of us now, a fallen angel and her loyal knight. I will not let this land consume you as well."

Guilford's bold show of affection paid off. His warm, comforting embrace acted as a shower of bombs against the emotional dam built up inside Cornelia. Her armor failed, and her eyes welled up. Cornelia threw herself around her knight just as the cataclysmic blasts of raw emotion breached her last gate. Streams of pure liquid sorrow rushed forth from her eyes as she began to create an ocean of tears for her sister.

* * *

Upon their return to their base in Tokyo, The entirety of the Black Knights threw a massive party inside their warehouse. Lelouch, however, had a promise to keep. And so they had other plans that night. Classes resumed the next day, and they would need to attend in order to maintain their outwardly normal appearances. Lelouch had offered Euphemia a room at the Ashford Academy, but she was quick to decline. Kallen was unnaturally quick to point out that giving her special treatment would cause tensions to build. Of course, Lelouch knew the real reason why Kallen was so quick to back up Euphemia's decision stay at the base.

An hour later they had arrived back at Ashford Academy. Although the side doors through the perimeter wall were always locked at night, Lelouch knew every last flaw in the Academy's security measures. Less than half a minute later he had unlocked the door and disabled its accompanying camera without being seen.

There was only darkness coming from the club house, meaning with almost complete certainty that Nunnally and Sayoko were already asleep. As they approached the entrance, Lelouch motioned for Kallen to remove her shoes. Using their socks to eliminate any sound from the wood floor, the pair made their way upstairs.

They passed by the light switches, needing no more than the light of the full moon shining through the windows. Lelouch and Kallen stealthily moved into the next hallway, opening the second door on their left. Lelouch barely had time to finish shutting the door before Kallen grabbed him from behind.

He had no time to react before he found himself being thrown onto his bed. Kallen jumped on top of him. Lelouch stared across the four inches between them into the bright blue eyes gazing down on him. She had the eyes of a starving wolf upon her helpless prey. Kallen felt noticeably hotter as her heart rate spiked up, her desire reaching uncontrollable levels.

She leaned down and delivered a passionate kiss. Kallen forced her tongue into Lelouch's mouth, licking and probing around to her heart's content. She was reluctant to break away, but her lungs' desire for air proved too tempting.

"Kallen..." Lelouch breathed out before he sucked in the air she had denied him for the past minute. Kallen rested her forehead against his, their eyes filling each others' fields of view.

"I don't know exactly how you feel about me, Lelouch. But I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that I love you."

"Don't you think this is going way too fast?"

"Not at all. Here you are laying in my arms, prince charming making my dreams come true. I don't need any more than that." Lelouch felt moved enough by her words to take the initiative for the first time. He leaned up and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. Lelouch soaked up her heat, scents, and sounds as he was sandwiched between his soft warm bed and deadliest warrior.

Kallen began aggressively pulling their clothes off. Lelouch's mind took a step back from the reality of what was happening to him and made an interesting observation. Kallen had changed into her Ashford Academy uniform before they left their base, but she left her Stadtfeld half behind. The woman who was now hastily unbuttoning his pants was the strong and aggressive Kallen Kouzuki, not the fragile and timid Kallen Stadtfeld.

* * *

Cornelia awoke to a ray of sunlight flashing between the curtains. She opened her eyes and saw bright blue sky on the other side. She tried to move, but felt something strong holding her down. Only then did her half asleep brain register the position she was in. She was laying in her bed, on top of Guilford, his uniform still wet. The night suddenly came back to her. It had taken her nearly five hours of crying into her knight's chest to calm down enough to sleep. From the position they were in, it appeared that Guilford had himself fallen asleep while she cried her heart out.

Cornelia wiggled her way out of his unconscious embrace and replaced herself with a large pillow. She smiled as she observed his sleeping body cling to the pillow like an overboard sailor would cling to a life raft. She picked up a fresh uniform before going to the bathroom to clean herself up for another painful day.

* * *

Lelouch and Kallen walked into the student council's meeting room to find it the same as it always was. Milly and Nina typing away on their computers, Suzaku and Shirley filing through stacks of papers, and Arthur sleeping on the end of the table. Milly was the first to notice them.

"Well you two are back a day early. Did something happen with your little romantic getaway?"

"Romantic getaway! Milly don't joke about things like that!" Shirley yelped as she jumped up from her pile of documents.

"So where did you guys go?" Suzaku was next to ask them as he sifted through more documents.

"Camping." Lelouch replied in a disconnected fashion as he caught a glimpse of what was on Nina's screen. Something that even at a glance looked very interesting.

"Camping, huh? That seems a little out of character for the both of you. But I can't even imagine Lelouch with a tent in the wilderness." Milly bounced back in her typical hunger for information.

"We had a nice log cabin up in the mountains with a warm fireplace and a case of fine wine. We would have stayed if Viceroy Cornelia didn't decide to turn our weekend getaway into a battlefield."

"You guys were at Narita?" Suzaku asked with a hint of concern.

"We were on an adjacent mountain. With the aid of some high powered binoculars, we had a good view of the whole engagement."

"How much did you see?" Suzaku's voice now showing signs of worry.

"Most of it. Especially the final battle near the burning G1." Lelouch could see the blood drain from Suzaku's face. "But now I want to know if what I heard over that open channel is true. Was Euphemia really killed yesterday?"

Suzaku went pale as his ears heard the one question he wished he never had to answer. All eyes in the room turned to them in stunned silence. Not a sound was made for half a minute, and then the silence broke. A single tear dropped from Suzaku's face and noticeably impacted a piece of paper on the table. And then came another, and another, until Suzaku was visibly crying.

"Suzaku?" Shirley asked with concern.

"It hurts enough to watch your friends die. Please don't make me go through this again."

"You two were close?" Shirley put an arm around him.

"After Zero appeared on that bridge, Euphemia believed in what he said. She personally ensured that I received a fair trial. The next day we went shopping around Tokyo together. That's where Euphie found Arthur. She even helped me with my homework." Shirley tried to shake some sanity back into Suzaku as he began recalling even the most minute memories.

"It's ok Suzaku. We've heard enough." She tried to comfort him.

Lelouch turned to Kallen and winked. She winked back at him. They were the only two present who knew the truth. That all the pain and suffering Suzaku, Cornelia, and everyone else felt was nothing more than another one of Zero's ingenious plans.

"I..should be getting back to base." Suzaku said as he simultaneously got up and wiped the tears from his eyes. One by one everyone but Lelouch, Kallen, and Nina left the room. Lelouch whispered into Kallen's ear.

"You should go. You don't want to see me do this." Lelouch's left eye flared bright crimson.

"No, I do want to see it. Please."

"Very well." Lelouch walked over to Nina as Kallen took a seat. She had stopped typing and was staring down at her hands.

"Nina?"

"Why? Why would they kill her? Euphemia was so kind, so gentle, so wonderful."

"They didn't." Lelouch stated.

"But Suzaku said-"

"Suzaku said what he believes to be true. He did not lie when he confirmed Euphemia's death, but he doesn't know what really happened, just what he saw." He began to explain

"What are you saying, Lelouch?"

"Euphemia is just as dead as I am, Nina."

"How do you know that?"

"Do you know who I am, Nina?"

"You're Lelouch." She simply replied.

"Deeper than that. Do you know who I really am?" Lelouch inquired.

" N..No. You never talked about your past, always changing the subject or claiming it was too painful." Nina remembered the few times Shirley had tried.

"Lets make a deal. I'll tell you all about my past if you can explain what exactly I am seeing on that screen that involves splitting uranium and sakuradite atoms. "

"Its...its a bomb. Splitting the uranium atoms releases a tremendous amount of energy, if the density is high enough it will start an explosive chain reaction. The sakuradite casing amplifies the explosive effect significantly. The result would be an explosion unimaginably powerful, enough to destroy entire armies or cities with one blast." Nina explained, much to the surprise of Lelouch and Kallen.

"Why are you developing a weapon like that? I thought you had no interest in the military."

"I don't really, but I thought that if I could apply my research to make a powerful weapon that they might give me the funding I need. I originally wanted to make a new energy source from the technology, but they wouldn't be as interested."

"Have you presented this to them yet?" Lelouch quickly asked her, slightly worried at the prospect of Britannian military scientists having this information.

"No, I wanted to run the simulations a few more times and make the reaction more predictable."

"If you had all the funding in the world, how long would it take you to make a viable weapon?"

"If I could get premade enriched uranium, about a month. Why, Lelouch?"

"Because I could use one, or ten. Defeating Britannia is going to require a lot of firepower." Lelouch told her with a grin

"Defeat Britannia... just who are you?" Lelouch could hear the fear creeping into her voice.

"My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Empire. But you would know me as Zero." Nina started quivering in fear as he approached her, his left eye glowing bright red. "But you're going to forget all of that for now. You will join the Black Knights, Nina. You will develop your superweapons for me. And you will tell not a soul about it."

"I understand, your highness." Nina's now calmed voice replied.

* * *

A single Gloucester came over the ridge, a sea of activity before it. An assortment of knightmares, heavy diggers, and transport vehicles of all kinds moved about the makeshift base of the mountain. The battle here had ended not even two days ago, but now the real pain was to be felt. The Gloucester pulled up to one of the three large green tents. The unit's cockpit door fell open and the pilot's seat deployed out from behind its armored enclosure.

Viceroy Cornelia once again set foot upon the most hellish place she had ever known. Narita had taken everything from her. Her friends, her army, her confidence, her reputation, and even her sister, all stolen upon this mountain. Cornelia reminded herself to apologize for taking Guilford's Gloucester while he was asleep, as hers was almost completely destroyed in the battle. Although she technically could do practically whatever she wanted, her knight had been the only thing keeping her from total meltdown. She needed him much more than she was willing to admit.

Cornelia was not at Narita to oversee the cleanup operations, there were plenty of lowly officers that were more than capable of digging bodies out of the dirt, but rather she was here for closure, to find out what went wrong, and how her friends and allies died. Cornelia walked into the nearest green tent. Within sat row upon row of body bags, none vacant. A tall man wearing a spotless uniform approached her and snapped off a salute.

"Major Stark reporting, your highness."

"Are you overseeing operations here?" the Viceroy asked.

"Yes, your highness. What can I do for you?"

"General Andreas Darlton. Have you found his body?" Cornelia wanted to know how her friend had died on that mountainside.

"No, your highness. General Darlton's cockpit block was completely destroyed, there would be no identifiable remains." Stark reported.

"How did he die, Major?"

"A large portion of his Gloucester was melted down to slag by some kind of extremely powerful thermal weapon." The Major began to explain.

"That red knightmare..."

"There's more, Viceroy. We found a Sutherland on top of his unit, the weapon melted through the both of them. The Sutherland belonged to a Lieutenant Ericsson. It appears that she attempted to shield him from the attack."

"I'll make sure her family gets a medal for her sacrifice."

"The spelling of Fenette matches this one." Cornelia heard a short distance behind her. She turned and approached the soldier who was directing an orange haired girl and what appeared to be her mother to one of the bags in the row.

"Fenette, as in Joseph Fenette?" The corporal turned in surprise as he recognized the voice behind him.

"Y..Yes, your highness."

"Could you identify the body?" The corporal asked as he turned to Shirley. The look on her face betrayed her feelings. She was scared, sad, unwilling to believe her father was dead. Cornelia saw the pain in Shirley's eyes. It was the same pain she had herself been struggling to overcome for the past two days.

"There's no need, I'll do it."

"You know this man, your highness?" Shirley, her mother, and the soldier turned their eyes to Cornelia.

"Joseph Fenette, one of the best engineers I have ever seen. This man could fix the unfixable with his bare hands with record breaking speed. I was going to have him rebuild my Gloucester, but as it would be, he is just another good Britannian I have to bury this week." Cornelia felt a shaking hand upon her shoulder. She turned to see Shirley, tears flowing down her face.

"Please, your highness, my father was such a good man. Make them pay for killing him."

"What is your name?"

"Shirley."

"I promise you, Shirley, I will avenge those that died here, your father included." Cornelia told her, fully intending to carry out that promise.

Ten minutes later, Cornelia walked up to a large transport vehicle near the remains of the G1 mobile command center. Nearby, the Lancelot was being fitted with a new energy filler. The Viceroy found Lloyd sitting under the nearby tent, typing away on one of his many computers.

"Princess Cornelia, how nice of you to join us." Lloyd greeted her as he looked up from the screen.

"Did you finish the evaluation?" She quickly asked, paying no attention to his cheery mood.

"Two hours ago, your highness."

"And the results?"

"The G1's armor package showed no signs of defects. The armor was penetrated by sustained fire from multiple enemy knightmares at very close range. Even though a 25mm high explosive round would do little damage by itself, hundreds of them fired at close range into one point would break through pretty much any known armor in the world."

"A weapon of that caliber should not have caused the entire G1 to explode." She replied, knowing the specifications and capabilities of knightmare mounted weapons better than most.

"It didn't, your highness. The blast patterns indicate that a HE round or two hit a stack of charged energy fillers in the knightmare bay. That created quite a nasty explosion that detonated anything else that could possibly go boom. Ammo, more energy fillers, and whatever fuel for the tanks that might have been laying around. The G1's heavy armor contained the blast within the unit, destroying the entire interior. It was like they got hit with an airstrike from the inside. Nothing could have survived in there."

"Thank you for your time, Lloyd."

"Not a problem at all, Viceroy. Now would you like to join us for a cup of tea?"

"I have more important things to do, Lloyd." Cornelia walked away from a noticeably disappointed Lloyd to Suzaku, who was in the process of pouring a bottle of water over his head as he waited for orders to continue operations. Suzaku spoke first as he saw her.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I could have stopped them if I had acted sooner, I could have saved her."

"As much as I would like to let you take all the blame, I cannot. Euphemia's death was our collective failure. You are right, Kururugi, you could have saved her. Just as I or Guilford could have saved her if we had turned around thirty seconds earlier, or if I had placed additional defensive forces around the G1. But talking about painful what ifs is not what I'm here for, Suzaku. I need to talk to you, about your future."

"My future? I don't understand, your highness."

"Sit." Suzaku complied, and Cornelia took the seat next to him. "There are two things that I just cannot remove from my mind. The first is what Darlton had to say about you, and the second is the reason that I ignored his advice." Suzaku sat in unblinking attention as the Viceroy spoke to him. "I'm sure you know that I personally do not like you Numbers." Cornelia began.

"I understand, your highness."

"General Andreas Darlton, one of my best friends and most dependable soldiers, had a very different view. He saw such great potential in you, although he never told you, Darlton believed that you were a cut above the rest. He never cared about race, religion, or national origin. Darlton cared about results, and he liked what saw when he watched you fight. Before the battle here at Narita, Darlton requested that you personally lead the assault." Cornelia paused for a moment to let that revelation sink in. "And I refused. Do you know why, Kururugi?"

"It was because I'm only an Honorary Britannian, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Suzaku, I ordered you to remain in the rear because I didn't want the help of an Eleven. I cannot escape the idea that my sister died because I left you behind for something as foolish as prejudice. As much as I hate to admit it, your only equal in battle was in the cockpit of that red knightmare we fought, and I doubt the pilot is Britannian either. The same enemy that killed Darlton and tore a gaping hole in our lines.

While Darlton sacrificed himself so that we could try to save Euphemia, you were sitting in a trailer waiting for orders. It is only now, after he is gone, that I can see that Darlton was right, and I was so horribly wrong. Suzaku Kururugi, you are the strongest warrior we have here in Area 11, and I cannot defeat the Black Knights without your help. Therefore, I have decided that you shall take his place."

"Take his place? You mean that I-" Suzaku tried to ask in near shock as he began to understand what she was going to do.

"Yes, Kururugi. Your knighting ceremony shall be in four days. I think he would be happy, looking down from the heavens, to see you succeed because of your talent, not some birth given title."

"I am truly honored, your highness."

"Save it for the ravenous media, Kururugi."

* * *

"Mind explaining why you have been ignoring me for the past week, Lelouch?" CC asked as she pillaged another slice from the Pizza Hut box.

"I've had too many things on my mind after the Narita operation."

"You mean I'm not important enough to earn a place in your thoughts?"

"That's not what I said-" Lelouch tried to counter.

"It's certainly what you implied, Lelouch. Would you pay more attention to me if I were more useful to you, like Kallen perhaps?"

"Kallen is-" He was cut off before he could say any more.

"I've noticed how much time you two have been spending together, how close you've become. I see the way you look at her, Lelouch. You love her, don't you?" CC grabbed yet another slice of pepperoni pizza.

"What makes you think I love her?"

"The way you look at her. I've seen those eyes ten million times. You always look at someone you love slightly differently than everyone else. What is it that makes you love her so?"

"Kallen's strong, loyal, beautiful, she's just so...so.."

"Perfect?" Lelouch looked her in the eyes as she devoured the last slice of pizza, lacking a response."Tell me, Lelouch, what can I do to be more useful to you."

"There are certain...elements that I would like to have removed."

"I thought the Black Knights were against assassination."

"Officially, yes, the Black Knights have nothing to do with such actions, unofficially however..."

"You want me to be your own personal assassin?" CC concluded.

"I would like you to do some deniable operations, CC. I'll buy you all the pizza you want if you agree." CC lunged forward and threw herself around Lelouch.

"You just wait and see, I'll have you yet!"


	9. Strategic Planning

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

A silver car pulled up behind a red truck in an upscale section of eastern Tokyo. The same car parked in the same place every day just as the sun was about to set. This was the fourth day that the car was in a perfect position to see into the large house across the street.

Inside the car sat a woman in a Britannian military uniform, going over a wealth of information stored in a plain yellow envelope. Within was everything there was to know about John Whitehall, the current president and CEO of the family owned Whitehall Armories.

Whitehall was a legendary figure in the Britannian defense industry, always ahead of the curve with the latest in military technology. The man had a talent for predicting the future. He successfully anticipated the rise of the Knightmare Frame almost a year before the Glasgow was officially adopted for frontline service. Being the first major producer of knightmares and their related weapon systems, he made billions of pounds practically over night as Whitehall Armories was the only company with the infrastructure in place for producing knightmares and everything you need to operate them.

Fast forward eight years and Whitehall is still Britannia's largest producer of advanced weapons, with a market share in excess of 67%. The information in the folder showed that John Whitehall was personally dissatisfied with the performance of his company's Area 11 operations. He came to personally oversee the branch's restructuring operation. He was staying at a nice house in eastern Tokyo with his wife Carla.

The uniformed figure in the car had observed that he left home at around 6:00 AM, and always returned no earlier than 7:00 PM. The car door opened, and the occupant exited the vehicle with a briefcase, the time was 6:21 PM. She crossed the street and knocked on the door. As expected, Carla answered the door.

"Is Mr Whitehall here? I need to speak with him about the army's latest order of modular knightmare weapons." The officer asked.

"I'm sorry, he's still at work. Come in, he should be back in about a half hour." Carla opened the door and invited her guest inside. The Britannian Army woman stepped inside and unzipped the briefcase. As Carla turned to shut the door she received a powerful blow to the back of her head. She was pushed to the ground as blood began to discolor her blonde hair. A ball gag was thrust into her mouth and secured behind her head, removing her ability to scream.

Carla desperately tried to crawl away from her attacker, but her motion was cut short as hot metal pierced both of her knees from behind. Two hot casings from the silenced pistol in the woman's right hand clanged as they fell to the hardwood floor. She went and grabbed a chair from the dining room and placed it about five meters from the front door, facing it. Carla was dragged up to the chair, unable to mount even a token resistance due to the extreme pain of being shot in both knees. Tears flowed down her face as she felt tape being applied to her wrists, binding them to the chair's arm rests. Her waist and ankles came next, firmly securing the suffering woman to the fine wooden chair.

As blood began to pool at the base of the chair, the woman in the army uniform opened her briefcase and produced four bricks of C4 plastic explosive, complete with detonators and adhesive backings. Through her tears Carla watched in shock as the explosives were adhered to the bottom of her chair, one by one. A pin was pulled from the receiver sticking out of one of the blocks, arming the weapon for remote detonation. She then moved over to a nearby table and positioned a camera to face product of her last five minutes of work.

Just then a distinctive smell began to circulate into the room. The woman in the army uniform rushed to the kitchen and opened to oven to find a freshly baked pizza, just barely finished. She quickly fished around the shelves and found the largest plate there was, piling most of the pizza onto it. She walked past the gagged, bleeding woman by the door as she left with the steaming hot pizza in hand.

The time was 6:58 when CC had finished devouring the entire pizza. She saw another car pull up to the house she had just invaded. The man she was waiting for exited his vehicle and walked in the front door. CC saw on the monitor linked to the remote camera that he did exactly as expected.

John Whitehall rushed over to his dying wife, kneeling into the pool of her blood as he desperately tried to free her. She was shaking her head at him and making as much noise as she could through the gag, but it was of no use, he kept trying to remove the duct tape. Carla knew exactly what was about to happen, but was unable to warn her husband, who was the real target. She exhaled and closed her eyes, accepting that she had no way out of this inevitable fate. Five seconds later, CC pressed a button as she drove away, and the camera feed died.

The explosion destroyed the bottom floor of the house, killing John, Carla, and their neighbor's pet dog. The shockwave shattered the windows of the nearby buildings and set off dozens of car alarms.

Britannian police and fire department units rushed to the scene but found nothing but a burning house and a lot of shattered glass. There were no identifiable remains inside the building, and no other casualties for them to attend to.

* * *

In the days since the Battle of Narita, the Black Knights were not remaining idle. Their primary base was an unmarked warehouse on the docks, formerly an area controlled by warring mafia factions. The warehouse provided many benefits as a headquarters and staging area. The surrounding area was effectively a series of choke points between warehouses, shipping crates, and other buildings, making it an excellent defensive position if Britannia ever decided to strike. It also sat directly above an old Japanese subway tunnel. The Black Knights had built an elevator in their warehouse that descends into the tunnels, allowing their forces to conduct operations without drawing attention.

The fourteen raids on various Britannian bases and facilities created an illusion that the Black Knights were far larger than they actually were. The subway network provided knightmares an unrivaled level of stealthy mobility. Squads of five or six knightmares attacked smaller Britannian military facilities, convoys, trains, and even a flight of low flying gunships with laser guided missiles. Zero had determined that continuous hit and run strikes would be the most effective way to keeping the pressure on without sustaining significant casualties.

Although the Black Knights had completely demolished the Britannian forces at Narita, fighting in the open was still risky. The victory cost quite a few knightmares and many lives. While Britannia could replenish their lost forces in a matter of days, the Black Knights simply did not have the infrastructure in place to trade blow for blow.

But Zero always had a plan, and he was about to execute the next step as he walked through the warehouse base, flanked on both sides by his strongest warrior and his newest hand picked recruit. Zero opened the door as they reached the large mobile home that functioned as their mobile commander center.

He stepped inside, followed closely by Kallen and a nervous looking Nina. Kallen immediately went to the second floor room, leaving Zero and Nina with the unit's remaining occupants. Jeremiah and Ougi were looking over combat data from the latest raid, a strike against an enemy supply train. Viletta was laid out on a straight section of the semi circular couch, lost in a deep sleep. Directly across from her sat Euphemia in a Black Knights uniform. On her lap sat a big bowl of steaming hot noodles together with a pair of red chopsticks. Euphemia turned to look at them with a mouth full of noodles. Zero spoke first as she hurried to gulp down the noodles.

"How's the transition from princess to revolutionary going?"

"It's not half as hard as I had imagined. Everyone seems to like me for who I am once they get past what I am." Euphemia reported.

"That's certainly true." Ougi cut in. "Euphemia has a real talent for making everyone smile. It's like she just radiates happiness."

"So what have you been doing for the past few days?" Zero asked as he sat down.

"Besides getting to know everyone, I went with Jeremiah on two raids. We blew up a train and shot down some gunships in Shinjuku." Euphemia answered as she readied another clump of teriyaki noodles.

Zero turned to Jeremiah "How well did she do?"

"Quite good, actually. Her highness had no trouble following our plan and engaging the designated targets. Overall I would say she's a fairly average pilot. She did all that was asked of her, no more and no less." Jeremiah replied as he got up to hand his computer to Zero. "Here's the combat data from her Gloucester for both engagements."

"I'll review the data later." Zero turned back to Euphemia. "But right now I have a job for you, Euphie. She's shy, nervous, and easily frightened. Do what you can to make her feel more at home here." Zero motioned to Nina who was standing silently off to the side. She stepped forward and sat down between them.

"I'm Nina...It's nice to meet you again, Princess Euphemia."

Euphemia perked up as she recognized who was talking to her. "You were at the Lake Kawaguchi hotel right?"

"The way you stood up to those men...it was magical, like an angel had come to save me."

"Do you know why I did it, Nina?"

"No, your highness."

"That smile you're wearing. What I really want is to make people smile again." Nina smiled for her. "You see, it worked! I'm doing the same thing I did for you, only this time I'm doing it for the whole world."

While Nina and Euphemia continued talking about all manner of things, Zero went upstairs to join Kallen in the largest of the upper rooms. As he closed the door behind him he saw Kallen spread out on the bed, laying face up as her gaze bore into the ceiling. Zero removed his mask as came to sit down next to her.

"Is something wrong Kallen?"

"I've been thinking, Lelouch. What exactly are we going to do with Euphemia? As much as she doesn't want to hear it, being a pretty figurehead is all that she really knows how to do." Kallen shifted her eyes over to her favorite prince.

"Even though she's such a gentle soul, she has so much hidden potential. Euphie has also proven to be quite resilient, even after killing several people, she is still the same little sister I've always adored. But she truly wants to be something more, and that's where you come in. In four days you are going to take a real camping trip to Narita. After the battle the JLF pulled their remaining forces out of the area, and the Britannian military left when they finished their recovery operations. It's really a wonderful spot to conduct an advanced knightmare training course."

"You want me to teach Euphemia how to fight?" Kallen asked as she sat up.

"Not only Euphemia, but CC and a few others. Despite your absolutely divine skill on the battlefield, we have a serious lack of first rate pilots. While we can avoid it for now, another head on confrontation with the Britannian military is inevitable."

"But we fought so well at Narita!"

"That we did, against regular Britannian units. If Cornelia was to call in her Glaston Knights for example, we would have no answer to that many excellent pilots on the field. As it stands at the moment, none of the Black Knights would last even a minute in direct combat against you, and Britannia has quite a lot of pilots that aren't that much worse." Lelouch explained.

"Alright, I get it Lelouch, but four days is a little short to come up with a comprehensive training program." Lelouch reached into a pocket in his cape and produced a folder. He handed it to Kallen, who was absolutely amazed at what was inside.

"Don't I have a reputation for planning everything ahead to the finest detail?" Kallen smiled as she shifted to rest her head on his right leg.

"What are we going to do about us?" Kallen spoke as she leaned her neck back to look up into Lelouch's amethyst eyes.

"Zero and Kallen Kouzuki are to remain nothing more than close allies for the moment. Kallen Stadtfeld and Lelouch Lamperouge however..."

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi calmly ascended the last flight of stairs to reach a white stone walkway. As he made the first step onto the spotless white ground, glowing in the midday sun, and set eyes upon the great double doors before him, time slowed down. It was a feeling he had first felt on a battlefield, a moment of calm serenity before the wave of chaos. He looked up and saw a bright blue sky dotted with small, puffy white clouds.

This was the culmination of a dream. Suzaku had for years dreamed of the day that he would become a knight. To achieve his goal of a peaceful transformation for Britannia, he would have to climb to the top, to become the Knight of One. It felt like a fairytale the first time he had envisioned it. The reality of climbing the ladder of Britannian society was almost sickening to him. He had only made it this far quite literally over Andreas Darlton's dead body. Suzaku tried his best to clear his mind as he finally reached the fine wooden doors, lined with gold.

Kururugi took a deep breath before pushing the doors open, one with each arm. Before him stood twin seas of faces, suspicion, hostility, and just plain dislike written all over their expressions. He kept his eyes facing forward as he slowly walked down the red carpet between the guests and attendants. At the end of the tunnel, on an elevated platform, sat Cornelia li Britannia, a very large Britannian flag adorned the wall behind her throne. As he got closer to the six steps leading up to the throne, he could see her neutral expression.

Suzaku and Cornelia locked eyes as he took the first step, and another, and another. As he set foot upon the area before the throne, Cornelia's expression ever so slightly shifted to a faint smile. Suzaku came to a stop before Cornelia and fell to one knee. Suzaku drew the longsword from his side as Cornelia stood, holding it out to her, hilt first. The weight of so many hostile eyes upon him made a part of him wish she would just thrust the blade, the tip already against his heart. Cornelia spoke as her fingers reached the pommel.

"Suzaku Kururugi, will thou upon this day pledge thy fealty to Britannia, and stand as a knight of the crown?" The princess began the ceremony.

"Yes, your highness." Suzaku felt empowered as he, the first man of non Britannian origin, said those three words on a live international broadcast.

"Does thou wish to abandon thy self, and become sword and shield of the greater good?" Cornelia's voice rang out with absolute authority through the hall.

"Yes, your highness."

Cornelia took the longsword and raised it before Suzaku. She gently touched the cold steel point against each of his shoulders.

"I, Cornelia li Britannia, Second Princess of the Empire, dub thee Sir Suzaku Kururugi." Suzaku returned the blade to the scabbard. "Rise, my knight."

Suzaku stood and turned. The room was cloaked in dead silence. Earl Lloyd, who was standing in the front row, was the first to break the silence with a clap. Nobody else made a sound. Then another sound came from Suzaku's right. He glanced over to see Lord Guilford clapping for him, a sturdy smile on his face.

Behind him, Cornelia was almost to the boiling point, feeling her legendary rage well up as the audience refused to clap. She left her throne to stand at Suzaku's side, before glancing over at him and beginning to clap herself. The people assembled in the room began a thunderous applause, their distaste for Sir Kururugi overpowered by the thought of provoking Cornelia's wrath. Suzaku looked to his left and saw a real smile on her face for the first time since Narita.

* * *

Miles away from the grand palace in the center of the city, The Black Knights were among the hundreds of millions of people to watch Suzaku's knighting ceremony live. In their mobile command center, they sat around the U shaped couch watching the event on the unit's wall mounted plasma screen. Surprisingly, they had mixed feelings about watching Suzaku Kururugi be knighted on a live broadcast.

"I think Suzaku's earned it." Euphemia commented as she poured another cup of tea.

"Well of course you would think that." Tamaki shot back from the other side of the U.

"I'm with Euphie. Being the pain in the ass he is with that Lancelot frame, Suzaku certainly deserves to be a knight. If I were Cornelia, I would knight him out of the pure embarrassment that a second class citizen single handedly rescued the so called Goddess of Victory." Kallen said as she picked up her own cup of exquisitely made tea.

"What do you think, Zero?" Ougi said to the masked man sitting at the center of the U couch.

"Pulling him down off of that high throne is going to feel so much more satisfying now." Zero's artificial voice replied in an almost prophetic fashion.

"Are we going to kill him then?" Tamaki asked.

"No. That would ruin it, he would be portrayed as a martyr. I would much rather have him captured, so that he can bear witness to just how wrong he is."

* * *

The day after being knighted before the eyes of hundreds of millions of people around the world, Suzaku returned to the Ashford Academy expecting to have the first normal day in a week. Milly Ashford had other plans. Milly pulled a lot of strings to have the entire school shut down for the day. Instead of scheduled classes, there was to be a gigantic party in the Academy's ballroom. Like her grandfather before her, Milly was well known for her ability to create parties of legendary proportions practically out of thin air.

Suzaku entered the ballroom through the front doors to find the room buzzing with activity. He looked around and saw several hundred people in attendance, mostly students. On the right side of the room stood three large tables, covered in a wide assortment of food and drinks. Everything from pizza to cookies to cheesecake, all in large quantities. Just next to it were several water dispensers and a huge vat of cherry koolaid.

Without warning, Suzaku felt a tugging force on his left arm. Before he knew it, Rivalz was pulling him through the crowd to the center of the room. As Rivalz poured him a glass of what appeared to be orange soda and called a toast, Suzaku's mind was elsewhere. He was carefully looking around the room, scanning the crowd for a certain prince with an uncanny ability to hide in plain sight. Sir Kururugi finally looked behind him and saw that Lelouch had been watching him the whole time. He was sitting on one of the many couches that lined the perimeter of the room, sipping something red from a glass. He was somewhat surprised to see Kallen laying across his lap, her head resting on the couch's arm.

As Suzaku approached them, Kallen sat up, freeing space on the couch. Lelouch opened the conversation as he sat down.

"I'm not sure whether to be congratulating you, or feeling sorry for you Suzaku. Being under Cornelia's personal command is going to make your life quite a bit harder."

"You know I'm always up for a challenge." Suzaku replied, sounding optimistic about his future.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lelouch spotted the man he had been waiting to see ever since he got word of Milly's party. Earl Lloyd Asplund, with his assistant Cecile, were walking toward the other side of the room.

"Excuse me Suzaku, I'll be back in a few minutes." Lelouch said as he stood up, winking his left eye at Kallen, who was now internally trying to figure out what exactly Lelouch was going to Geass the earl into doing. Suzaku looked over at Kallen and mistakenly identified her staring off into space as staring at Lelouch.

"You two have been spending a lot of time together over the last few weeks, is there something you're not telling me?" Suzaku asked in an almost playful tone. Although Kallen had seriously fallen in love with the Black Prince about a week ago, she had not considered what people would think about them constantly disappearing together on Black Knights business for over a month. She thought for a second, before remembering that Lelouch had quietly hinted to her that she could let out their secret if she wanted.

"What can I say Suzaku, love changes people." Kallen replied with a smirk on her face as she saw her words derail his train of thought. From the look on his face he was not expecting to hear anything remotely close to them being in love. Before Suzaku could say anything, a wave of collective gasps washed over the party. People all around them immediately began whispering amongst themselves about Milly's engagement to Lloyd Asplund.

As the initial shock of the news began to die down and people went back to their business, Lelouch approached Lloyd as Milly went to help Shirley with a stack of pizza boxes.

"Earl Asplund, if you could spare a moment of your time I need to have a word with you."

"That you are making a request suggests to me that you wish to speak in private." Lloyd observed.

"Indeed. As Milly's vice president, I know a thing or two about surviving in her presence. She has had over thirty previous suitors, none of which were able to sustain their engagements for longer than a week. Perhaps you could use some of my insider information?" Lelouch offered the Earl.

"Oh why not, I'm always hungry for more information." Lloyd replied as he followed Lelouch through the sliding doors into the next room.

"So is Milly." Lelouch's last words before the door shut behind them and Lloyd found himself alone with the Black Prince.

"So tell me, what exactly are these tidbits of insider information?" Lloyd inquired in his generally cheerful tone.

"We'll get to that in a few minutes, but first you have to do something for me." Lelouch turned to Earl Asplund, crimson light glowing from his left eye. Lelouch pulled a bulky envelope from inside his uniform. "Within this envelope is a hard drive. You will transfer all of your research, past and present, to this, then you will follow the instructions within to the letter. You will also do everything in your power to conceal what you are doing from anyone and everyone." He ordered.

"Oh I understand perfectly, your highness." Lloyd said as the Geass command took control of his mind. Several seconds passed before the order's effect receded for the time being, and the red rings faded from Lloyd's eyes. Lloyd stood with a puzzled look on his face.

"Are you alright, Earl Asplund? You looked like you were going to pass out." Lelouch asked as he moved to steady Lloyd.

"Curse the limits of this human body. Sometimes I wish I could just build myself a better one. Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

* * *

As Kallen sat back down with two more slices of hot pizza, she asked Suzaku the one question he had been expecting all day.

"Something's been bugging me Suzaku." He looked over at Kallen as she continued. "Last time we asked you said you worked in an engineering division. Knighthood isn't something handed out lightly, especially not by Viceroy Cornelia. You must have done something pretty damn good to impress her."

Of course, Kallen already knew exactly what Suzaku had been up to. She was trying to replicate something Lelouch did on a daily basis. He told her that you can learn a whole lot about a person not by trying to find out the truth, but by examining how they choose to lie.

"Truth is Kallen, I do work in an engineering division, but it's not what it sounds like. Earl Asplund over there is actually my boss. He's a high ranking member of the Camelot program, Prime Minister Schneizel's personal research and development organization. I can't say much since almost all of it is highly classified, but Lloyd is the head of the Special Envoy Engineering Corps, Camelot's Area 11 branch. He's here to field test experimental technologies including the first seventh generation knightmare." Suzaku answered with a surprising degree of truth.

"And you happen to be the lucky test pilot?"

"More like unlucky guinea pig." Suzaku replied.

"So what, you kicked some serious ass with that experimental knightmare frame?" Kallen tried her best to sound as if she didn't remember every second of their brutal engagement at the base of the mountain.

"I wish. I defied a direct order to save the Viceroy's life during the Battle of Narita. Her highness personally commended me for bravery, skill, and initiative." Suzaku explained as Kallen gulped down a slice of pizza at a speed that would have made CC jealous.

"I remember now! You were that white knightmare that fought the red one, right?"

"Yeah. My Lancelot could barely keep up with that red monster." Suzaku admitted, making Kallen feel a sudden boost of extra confidence.

"What do you know about the red one?" Internally Kallen felt a little strange indirectly asking about herself.

"Not much. It's very fast and has some kind of hellish thermal weapon mounted on that big silver claw. Whoever the pilot is, she's got some serious talent." Suzaku commented.

"She? What makes you think it's a woman?" Kallen fished for some real secrets.

"We intercepted a number of Black Knights transmissions during the battle. They kept referring to the red knightmare as Q1, and they always indicated that she was female." Suzaku said, not realizing that he had just informed a high ranking Black Knight that their codes needed some work.

"The Queen."

"Huh?" Suzaku asked in a puzzled tone.

"You said they call her Q1. That's a chess reference. Q1 is the queen, the most powerful piece on the board." Kallen enlightened him.

"So Zero plays chess? Not surprising with his strategic mind. I wonder who's better, Lelouch or Zero." Suzaky wondered aloud.

"Lelouch would probably crush him just as bad as everyone else. Practically half of Area 11's nobility owes him something."

"Yeah, I heard that he likes to gamble a lot. You really should try to talk him out of it, it can be dangerous." Suzaku suggested.

"Not a chance. My Lelouch forgot how to lose a long time ago. While we're talking about gambling, why don't you come over and try out his latest acquisition"

"What is it?"

"A pair of military grade knightmare simulators, Gloucesters to be exact."

"You do realize just how illegal that is, right?" Suzaku's voice became more serious.

"So did the noblemen that were so eager to gamble away their fortunes." Kallen said with a happier tone.

"Alright, Kallen, best of three?"

"Loser buys us dinner." Kallen motioned for Suzaku to follow as they moved through the party toward one of the ballroom's back doors. Before they made it, their movements attracted the attention of Lloyd, Lelouch, and Cecile, who proceeded to follow them out the back.

They caught up to Kallen and Suzaku at the elevator down to the lower levels.

"My my Suzaku. Not even a knight for two days and your ability to attract the opposite sex has increased dramatically." Lloyd said as Lelouch blocked the door, letting them into the elevator.

"It's not what it looks like Lloyd." Suzaku tried to explain.

"Then what else could you two be doing sneaking into a rather off the trail elevator down to who knows where?"

"My friends Kallen and Lelouch have some knightmare simulators. Loser buys us all dinner." Suzaku informed the elevator's three unaware occupants.

"Ooo I'm glad I caught up to you two then, this certainly sounds like more fun than the party."

"Indeed. I think I'm going to enjoy watching this." Lelouch said as he winked his left eye at Kallen. The gesture had become less of an indication that he was going to use Geass, and more of shared secrets. Lelouch was certainly eager to see a rematch from Narita, even if Suzaku, Lloyd, and Cecile hadn't the faintest idea of who Sir Kururugi was really about to duel.

The elevator dinged open and revealed the Ashfords' underground warehouse. After the family got out of the business of research and development, the underground facility became little more than a storage area. Nobody noticed or cared that Lelouch frequently used the space to store all manner of things acquired in his gambling career. As the group of five walked over to the two face to face Gloucester simulators, Lelouch connected the power and booted up the systems. Two screens activated, allowing observers to view the duel from both perspectives from outside the simulators.

Kallen and Suzaku strapped themselves into their cockpits. The units were a complete replica of the Gloucester's cockpit design, down to the seatbelts and ejection switch. Although the simulators did in fact move on a set of sixteen hydraulic pistons, eight for vertical motion and eight for horizontal, the movement was rarely enough to knock you out of your seat. When the ejection system was activated, the whole unit slammed back with a significant amount of force to simulate the effect of a real cockpit block's rocket ejection. Movement, weapons, and damage models were all created using real data from real combat, achieving a high degree of realism.

The simulators were loaded out with standard issue weapons. Both Kallen and Suzaku chose the same loadout, Each of their Gloucesters was equipped with a large golden lance with deployable wing blades, and a newer KAR 25 G model assault rifle equipped with an overbarrel 70mm grenade launcher. The weapon's new 70mm capability could fire a variety of ammunition types such as high explosive, smoke, teargas shells, and even wide area adhesive nets for riot suppression. Both Kallen and Suzaku were also equipped with two Chaos Mines. To call it a mine would be misleading. The Chaos Mine was in effect a thrown directional stacked projectile weapon that showered a rectangular area with high velocity metal slugs. Kallen had been on the receiving end of these weapons in the past and was excited to use them, even if they were only simulations.

As both pilots readied themselves, and their audience took their seats, a countdown timer started from ten on their screens. Kallen activated a channel to Suzaku.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to hurt your reputation too badly." Kallen launched the first move, a mental strike. She knew that Suzaku would likely wave it off as some friendly trash talk, and become slightly more overconfident as he would likely assume the outwardly fragile Kallen Stadtfeld to have no real chance against a battle proven knight. The countdown timer hit zero, the number flashed green and disappeared, revealing the battlefield.

Kallen almost gasped as she realized the setting, a very accurate recreation of the Shinjuku Ghetto created from satellite imagery and combat data from their very real engagement there. 'Wish I could have had a Gloucester back then.' Kallen thought to herself as she recalled the layout of the area.

Because the battle was only one on one, the designated combat zone was limited, the boundaries visibly marked by walls of red light. It did not take Kallen and Suzaku long to find each other.

Unsure of his opponent's skill level, but assuming it to be low, Suzaku opened his attack with a burst of rifle fire against the purple Gloucester coming at him down the street. As the very first muzzle flash registered in Kallen's brain, she maxxed the Gloucester's acceleration. Her knightmare simultaneously jumped up and to the left, landspinners making contact with the wall while firing her slash harkens into a building on the other side of the road. The retracting harkens pulled the Gloucester across the street in mid air, well over Suzaku's fire. Kallen's battle tested instincts instantly remembered that the Lancelot always raised a Blaze Luminous shield, or jumped back when under rifle fire.

Lacking an energy shield, Suzaku did exactly as predicted as Kallen opened fire on him before she even landed. Suzaku did not anticipate that she would fire behind him, however, and multiple high explosive rounds detonated against his Gloucester, ripping into the purple armor, but not causing any severe damage.

Suzaku performed a similar move to reach the rooftops, but found no trace of Kallen's Gloucester. He activated the factsphere eye and scanned for heat sources. Kallen again correctly anticipated his moves, betting on the fact that he would not expect her to be hiding motionless in an alleyway directly beneath him. As she saw him turn his back to the interbuilding space that she was hiding in, Kallen immediately sprang to action, using her landspinners to climb the walls.

Sir Kururugi had barely a second to react as his enemy came rocketing out of the dark alley next to him and into the air, her lance positioned for a direct thrust to the cockpit. Suzaku had no time to move his cockpit out of the way, instead opting to thrust his lance over the unit's head, directly behind him. Kallen's lance impacted Suzaku's and was deflected from it's deadly path. Suzaku moved to counter, but was forced back on the defensive by Kallen's powerful aggression. She had placed her rifle on the cockpit's magnetic clamp before initiating her ambush, freeing up the left arm for melee combat.

Suzaku once again deflected her lance thrust with his own, but found himself under attack by the left arm's tonfa. The blunt melee weapon slammed into his assault rifle as he was bringing it up, destroying the weapon. Kallen followed up by firing both of her slash harkens at point blank range. Suzaku was just too fast however, he fired his own harkens just in time to intercept perfectly. The Knight delivered a powerful kick, knocking Kallen's Gloucester on its side.

Kallen quickly redlined the acceleration, generating a soul piercing screech as the landspinners moved the downed knightmare into a counter kick. Both of her legs slammed into Suzaku's before he had a chance to evade, knocking his frame into a similar position. Kallen seized the opportunity to get up and drive toward the adjacent building, which was almost nine meters taller than their rooftop arena. Suzaku, having had his rifle destroyed, gave chase.

As Suzaku was following directly behind her, Kallen jumped toward the next rooftop. Suzaku prepared to do the same as he closed the distance. Just as Suzaku jumped, Kallen's landspinners, which were spinning as fast as they could possibly go, contacted the edge at the top of the wall, sending her Gloucester into a backflip. Time slowed down for both of them as Suzaku saw her position her lance for another kill shot. Being in mid air, there was no way for him to possibly dodge the downward thrust. The golden lance penetrated the top of Suzaku's cockpit block, and exited the bottom. Both knightmares crashed down to the rooftop under them, and only one stood up, its right hand still gripped around the now vertical lance shaft.

Everyone but Lelouch and Kallen sat in a state of absolute shock at what they had just witnessed. Suzaku's brain was simply struggling to connect the image of of the cute, frail, innocent Kallen to the complete mauling he had just received. If he didn't know his opponent he probably would have thought her to be a Knight of Rounds. Lelouch sat with a smile on his face, full of admiration for Kallen's incredible talent for knightmare combat. Lloyd's eyes were hurting him, as he had forgotten to blink during the battle.

"Where in the hells was this girl when we were doing pilot evaluation for the Lancelot? She's incredible!" Lloyd yelled as he jumped up from his seat.

"Hey Suzaku!" Kallen yelled over the comms. "Wake up, it's a best of three remember?"

Suzaku took a deep breath before hitting the green ready button to begin the countdown for the next round.

"Alright Kallen, I'm just going to pretend that you're Cornelia in disguise. That should make your skill level a bit more believable."

A half hour later the match was over. Kallen won two to one, taking the best of three. As agreed upon, Suzaku ended up paying for dinner, for all five of them.

* * *

In the week after Suzaku's knighting, the state of Area 11 remained static. The Black Knights continued their string of precision hit and run strikes against all manner of Britannian targets. The government also had the latest assassinations to worry about.

"How's it going up there, Kallen?" Lelouch spoke into his phone as he walked down the busy street.

"Great. It's just as dead up here as you said it would be, we haven't seen anyone else in days. This course you wrote up is really great, maybe you should be a teacher after this war is over." Kallen replied back to him.

"Are they progressing smoothly?"

"Everyone's getting better, especially Euphie. She really is Cornelia's sister, talent for knightmare combat is just in her blood." Kallen reported.

"How good is she now?" Lelouch inquired.

"Well, she made Jeremiah look like a novice this morning."

"That's good. It's nice to hear that she will finally be able to do what she always wanted."

"Hey Lelouch, it sounds pretty crowded where ever you are. What are you doing?"

"Something bold, risky, and incredibly dangerous." Lelouch hung up his phone as he walked in the front door of the Britannian Government Building in central Tokyo.

Thirty floors up, Cornelia was sitting behind her desk trying to put the pieces together. There had been seven high profile assassinations and over 30 Black Knights raids since the Battle of Narita. To top it off, smaller terrorist cells were emboldened by the Black Knights' success, and were launching attacks of their own. The phone on the desk rang, breaking the Viceroy's trance like deep thought. Cornelia hit the speaker button.

"Your highness, there is a man down here that claims to have critical information about the Elevens' resistance movements." The voice on the other end of the line reported.

"Oh does he now? Who is he?" Cornelia asked the man on the ground floor.

"His name is Alan Spacer, your highness. His record is so clean it would shine, and it appears that this is not the first time he has come forward with actionable intel. Just about a year ago he provided the key locations of several Elevens' weapon smuggling routes."

"Get what you can out of him." Cornelia ordered.

"That's the problem, your highness. Mr Spacer here claims that we have been thoroughly infiltrated by the Black Knights, and he refuses to divulge his information to anyone but yourself. Given their recent attacks, I believe he may be right about there being a number of moles in the government."

"Bring him up here after you check him for weapons." The Viceroy instructed.

"Understood, your highness." The soldier's faintly glowing eyes turned back to Alan Spacer as he hung up the phone. "Follow me, her highness has agreed to speak with you."

An elevator ride and a short walk later, and the doors to Cornelia's main office opened, revealing to the Viceroy a well dressed young man with blonde hair and green eyes. He walked forward as the soldier left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"This had better be worth my time, now start talking." Cornelia's voice carried commanding authority.

"Indeed it will be, your highness." The voice sounded so familiar to Cornelia, yet she was not given enough time to place it. "I know exactly where Kyoshiro Todou happens to be staying." Alan Spacer's left eye flared to reveal a bright crimson light. "And this is what you are going to do about it..."


	10. Playing with Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, Black Lagoon or any of their canon characters.

* * *

Eight unmarked black vans moved down the dark, poorly lit street, four from each end. The drivers killed the lights as they neared the target. They slowed to a stop on the side of the road, near a high stone wall. The doors opened, and four figures disembarked from each vehicle. They stepped out into the rain, moving as teams of four to predetermined positions around the walled property.

Each of the thirty two special forces soldiers was outfitted with an array of new and high tech equipment. Conventional armor and uniforms were replaced by long black trench coats, a revolutionary armor system. The armored coats provided a higher degree of protection than standard systems without sacrificing mobility. Their thick framed black sunglasses were actually a state of the art piece of infantry equipment. The oversized frames housed nightvision and infrared imaging systems, linked to display in the glasses' lenses. Real time data feeds located directly in the soldiers' huds topped off the system.

Within thirty seconds they had the entire complex surrounded, all points of escape covered, save for a small vine covered hole in the south wall. The teams moved in, suppressed weapons sweeping every angle. The Britannians advanced slowly, using the gravestones as cover against a potential ambush. Their target was one of the most wanted men in Area 11, Kyoshiro Todou. Todou was one of a select few people in the world was capable of defeating Britannia in battle. He delivered Britannia their only defeat of the Second Pacific War seven years prior.

"Phantom 1-1, I have eyes on the target. Confirming all five are present." The special forces soldier's cold voice reported over their secure channel. She was crouched behind a gravestone 27 meters behind the targets.

Todou kneeled before the grave of Genbu Kururugi, the very Japanese style roof above the large gravestone shielding them from the unrelenting storm. The sound of rain and thunder masked the sound of the black clad Britannians as they approached.

Nagisa Chiba, the only woman among the legendary Four Holy Swords, caught a glint in her peripheral vision as lightning illuminated the sky. She turned and adjusted her eyes, only to find herself staring down a special forces operative from less than 20 meters. Phantom 1-1 saw her draw a pistol and yell out something in Japanese, the veteran special ops soldier was as racist as they came. She didn't care what the targets had to say in whatever language they might be speaking before she shot them. Unfortunately, they had direct orders from Viceroy Cornelia to capture these people alive, not execute them in a graveyard, despite how appropriate it sounded to her.

Todou barked out his own orders just as several flashbang grenades came arcing over to them. The veteran soldiers that they were, they knew they had no chance of saving their hearing from such an assault. They all squinted as tight as their eyelids would go and covered their faces, shielding them from the extremely bright flashes. They deployed their own rapid release smoke grenades as they attempted to escape.

The Four Holy Swords opened fire on their attackers as they ran for the hole in the wall. In compliance with their orders, the Britannians returned fire with stun rounds, high velocity rubber bullets designed to inflict extreme pain while falling short of lethal damage. The pistol rounds were no match for the high grade armor that the special forces troops were issued. They scored plenty of hits, but inflicted no real damage.

Back at the gravestone, Todou rushed out from the concealment of the smoke, his katana thirsty for Britannian blood. Todou was an extremely strong man, with a tolerance for pain that would be best describes as inhuman. He charged the closest Britannian he could find, his razor sharp blade and years of training allowing him to slice through the man's assault rifle, and into his skull. The blade sliced through bone and brain matter with ease, neatly cutting the entire left side of the soldier's head off, to fall separately from his bleeding corpse. He eyed another target and moved to repeat the attack.

Phantom 1-1 was no fool. She was well aware that the stun rounds would not be enough to stop the Japanese warrior that was about to bisect her. Thinking fast, she threw her rifle at him, forcing Todou to bring his arms up to block. In the fraction of a second he was unable to see his target, she drew and fired a taser pistol. The twin darts shot forward, trailed by their connecting wires. Todou miraculously managed to see the attack in the low light, and with nearly superhuman speed, was able to strike away one of the darts with his katana. The second dart managed to hit him. The Britannian soldier squeezed down on the trigger, and a torrent of electricity flooded into her would be killer's body. The fact that he was soaked from the rain worked to enhance the effect.

Kyoshiro Todou collapsed as his muscles seized up from burst after burst of high voltage power. Within seconds, special forces soldiers had him pinned to the ground and tied with heavy plastic cuffs. They placed a shock collar around his neck, activated by the vibrations generated during speech. He was carried off into one of the waiting vans with a black covering over his head as the operation was concluded.

* * *

Kallen turned to take one last look at the sky above the Narita battlefield. The sun was setting behind the mountains, the sky above becoming a swirl of pink and orange light reflected from the puffy white clouds. She shut the door behind her as she got into the large truck, one of three they were using to transport the knightmares to and from their training week in the mountains.

She felt that they had ended their mission at a high point, with everyone doing better than when they started by some degree. But there was one pilot who stood out above the rest. Euphemia li Britannia, the beautiful princess with very little combat experience had stolen the show. On day one she was clearly the worst one in the group, being outperformed by everyone else. It was a position she was simply unwilling to accept.

By day three, Euphemia could consistently beat Ougi. Two days of hard training later, she tore Jeremiah apart. Only hours before they left, she had matched Kallen blow for blow. Although her Gloucester would stand little chance against the Guren in a real fight, the fact that she could at least keep up with the battle tested warrior spoke volumes. Like her sister, Euphemia had an incredible amount of untapped talent behind the controls of a knightmare frame.

Kallen finally understood how Suzaku felt during their simulator duel, she was having trouble connecting the cute puff of pink hair sleeping next to her to the Gloucester she sparred with. Kallen thought of waking her up, but quickly decided against it. They had been going at it for a week with very little sleep. Time was a very limited resource for the Black Knights. Only Jeremiah had gotten a few extra hours of sleep to be awake enough for the drive back to Tokyo.

Kallen copied Euphemia's exceptionally comfortable position on the chair and soon found herself drifting away as well. She chose not to resist, for they would likely need all the energy they could get in a few hours.

* * *

Lelouch occupied the farthest chair from the door in the student council room, ensuring that there was no way for someone to see the information scrolling down his computer screen. The Black Knights' combat reports for the last three days were laid out in front of him. Lelouch smiled as he looked over the numbers. His forces were continuing to inflict noticeable damage upon Britannian assets in central Japan with almost no losses.

The latest set of data confirmed what he had thought for some time now, that Cornelia was simply incapable of mounting an effective resistance to a well organized insurgency, especially when she did not hold a technological advantage. She had acquired the nickname as the Goddess of Victory by obliterating opposing armies in decisive battles. She had won 27 major battles on three continents, and almost single handedly conquered five Areas. But nowhere did she actually stay to deal with the resistance that followed the initial victory.

Lelouch's line of thought was interrupted by a little message informing him that he just received another highly encrypted email from Black Knights HQ. He opened the attached file to find the combat data from the participants of Kallen's week long training camp. He opened each file to see final progress numbers, the details could wait. From top to bottom, Lelouch checked each number and found that everyone had improved by between 40 and 70 percent on the Britannian scoring system that he had taken the time to enhance.

At the bottom of the list was Euphemia's file. Lelouch paused, and for a moment felt like a little boy on Christmas day with a large wrapped box, not knowing what to expect. If anyone else had been in the room they would have noticed the visible surprise on his face as he read the report. Euphemia's performance had increased by over nine hundred percent in one week.

"It would appear that she takes after her sister more than even I would have thought. This is most excellent indeed." Lelouch said to the air around him as he thoroughly read through the file. Lelouch barely finished his sentence before the door opened. In walked Milly, Shirley, and Nina. Milly walked over and dropped a stack of documents in front of Lelouch. He closed the computer and put it back in his bag. "What's all this?"

"Student files. I need you to organize them by year and class." Milly instructed her vice president.

"By tomorrow I assume?"

"Of course." Milly replied in her cheerful tone. Lelouch sighed and began to tie a string around the papers.

"Hey Lulu, have you heard from Kallen? We haven't seen her in a week." Shirley asked as he stuffed the thick stack of papers between his computer and the concealed assault rifle in the zippered compartment. With the adjustable stock at its shortest setting, the weapon just barely fit in the zipper section. Although it would certainly sound like overkill to bring a concealed automatic weapon to a rather peaceful school, within the past week Lelouch had been picking up signs of OSI activity in Tokyo. As he had learned the hard way during the year after the invasion, the OSI were masters of disguise and covert operations. They could be anyone, anywhere.

"She's in the hospital. She said that she didn't want to bore me with all the details, but she would be out in a few days." Lelouch smoothly lied. Telling them that she spent the last week training high ranking Black Knights, including a dead princess, in advanced knightmare combat would at best be instantly dismissed as a joke. He seriously doubted that any of them would believe the truth if they did not see it with their own eyes.

"What happened?" Shirley inquired about her friend.

"Kallen didn't tell me, but judging from how bored she sounded I would guess that it was nothing serious. I'll tell you if I hear anything new." Lelouch picked up his bag and began to walk in the general direction of the door. Milly had other plans. Their blonde president was addicted to information, always craving every last secret.

"So tell me Lulu, is what Suzaku said true?" Milly asked mischievously.

"What did he say, madam president?" Lelouch asked, slightly worried by the tone of her voice.

"Am I really going to have two Lamperouges on my student council?" Lelouch paused for a second, unsure of what she meant. Nunnally was still technically in the middle school section, and thus too young for a position on the council. He looked at Milly and saw her trademark evil grin, then he glanced over at Shirley and saw her quaking silently in horror. The real implication hit him a second later. Kallen must have slipped the status of their happy, loving relationship to Suzaku, probably during the party after his knighting. Lelouch decided to milk the moment for all it was worth.

"Would you like that, Milly? If you want, It can most certainly be arranged." Lelouch replied to her, his tone of voice indicating that he knew exactly what she meant.

"Seriously, Lelouch."

"Although I don't know exactly what he said to you, he certainly exaggerated. So no, one Lamperouge will have to do for now."

"How long has it been? I'm surprised that you could keep something like this from my expert secret sensors." Milly asked as she sat down on the table.

"Just about a month now." Lelouch said coolly as he walked up to Nina, desperate for a change of topics. "Have you made any progress?"

"I've been working on refining the simulations. I can get the uranium to split consistently, but making it react correctly with the sakuradite is harder." Nina reported to Lelouch. Although Nina did not know it, he was doing more than asking for a progress report. Lelouch was testing for another limitation of his Geass. When he Geassed Nina to develop her nuclear fission technology for him, he had told her to "not tell a soul about it".

"Do you have an estimate of what the theoretical explosive power would be for a finished device?" Lelouch asked, testing the limits of his power further. He had no real need to know what the explosive potential for a weapon that was nowhere near completion would be at the moment.

"Based upon the average of all nine times the simulation achieved a nearly perfect reaction, the weapon would generate an explosive force of approximately five to six megatons." Nina replied truthfully. The Geass did not stop her from responding in the presence of others when Lelouch was the one asking the question.

"What are you guys working on?" Milly asked as she took a look at the screen. Lelouch found another perfect opportunity.

"Nina, I need to go sort these papers, why don't you give them an overview of our project, without all the complex details." Lelouch instructed as he picked up the bag and began to walk out. As predicted, Nina began telling them about nuclear fission and its advanced applications as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Viceroy Cornelia shut and locked the door as she walked into a room under Tokyo's government building. The basement from sublevel three down was effectively a hardened bunker, capable of taking direct hits from anything currently in service. In the center of the room was a medium sized table, sixteen chairs around it. Each wall was lined with state of the art computer equipment, and enough screens to make a stockbroker dizzy. A man in a suit with a blood red tie and white gloves approached her, leaving the technicians to continue their work.

"Have you made any progress with the investigation, Lorenzo?" Cornelia immediately asked of the OSI section chief.

"Indeed we have, your highness. As you suspected, the man that came to personally give you intelligence does not exist. The official records have been tampered with at an extremely professional level. Anyone without serious counter intelligence training would be hard pressed to find that Alan Spacer is nothing more than a well crafted alias." Chief Lorenzo informed the Viceroy.

"Do you have any idea who he really is? His information was chillingly accurate, down to the exact tactics that the Four Holy Swords used to escape our encirclement."

"We do not have a name yet, your highness, but we did manage to pick up an image of this Alan Spacer on an external CCTV camera as he approached the government building. From the time and the direction he was walking from we managed to find several more images of him that day. We then backtraced the entire route he took to get here. Our analysts have concluded that his point of origin is somewhere near the Ashford Academy. With your permission your highness, I believe it would be wise to deploy agents to that school and surrounding areas." Lorenzo reported.

"Excellent work. Feel free to deploy your people as you see fit, but make sure you keep a low profile. The last thing I need to deal with is accusations that good Britannian citizens are being actively spied on." Cornelia ordered as she left the OSI branch.

* * *

Two days later, Lelouch managed to slip away from his cover as a student for the first time in nearly a week. Regular updates from the Black Knights' leadership indicated that the plan was proceeding exactly as envisioned. Viceroy Cornelia had captured the legendary miracle worker exactly as he told her to. He was somewhat surprised to learn that the Four Holy Swords had actually managed to escape, but he had already conjured up extensive plans for both outcomes.

Lelouch, now dressed as Zero, made his way though the Black Knights' large warehouse base toward their mobile command center parked in the back. As he passed by one row of dormant Burai frames, the sound of heavy machinery caught his attention. Zero looked left to see their custom built elevator rising up from the underground subway tunnels. Five knightmares, three Sutherlands and two Burai, stood atop the lift platform. They all showed visible signs of combat damage, but appeared to remain fully functional. As it so happened, Zero was standing directly between them and the maintenance area. The lead unit's cockpit opened as they slowly moved along. Zero turned to speak with the man.

"What happened?"

"The Britannians are getting smarter. They had gunships waiting on the rooftops near our tunnel exit. When we came up to attack the supply train they hosed us with their 30mm autocannons. I'm sorry we couldn't destroy the train, Zero." The lead pilot reported to the masked revolutionary. "We only got a few cars."

"You all came back alive, and your knightmares are still running. That's all that matters right now. Take your knightmares to the mechanics and go get some rest." Zero told them as he resumed walking to the mobile home.

Zero walked through the door to find everyone sitting around the U shaped couch going over battle plans and combat reports. Zero paused for a second to admire the scene. Japanese resistance fighters, former Britannian military officers, and even royalty all sitting and working together in cooperation. He sat down next to Kallen at the end of the U and picked up one of the reports on the table.

Inside the folder was a detailed description of a precision strike conducted three days ago. A team of three Burai knightmares utilized the subway tunnels to approach Britannia's main military airbase on the outskirts of Tokyo. Utilizing a pack of Archer laser guided SAM missiles, they targeted four military aircraft, two fighters, and two knightmare transports during their vulnerable window of takeoff. three of the four aircraft were destroyed in the attack that lasted less than two minutes. One of the fighters was saved by its stealth enhancements. The laser guiding the missile was unable to maintain lock against the coating of advanced materials on the fighter. The assault team escaped unchallenged back into the labyrinth of tunnels.

"I'm surprised that these tactics have maintained such high effectiveness for so long. It's almost suspicious that they have not made any substantial changes in their operations. Britannia did not conquer a third of the world by being incompetent." Zero observed as he put the folder back in the pile.

"Maybe this is Cornelia's way of helping us." Ougi said with a laugh.

"She's doing it on purpose." Euphemia said in a much more serious tone.

"But why? What purpose could she have to sacrifice so many lives for?" Kallen asked their insider expert.

"Public relations. Britannian ideology is centered around the idea of strength and superiority. The stronger you are, the better you are. While precision guerrilla warfare makes perfect sense from a military perspective, it has always been considered the traditional tactics of the weak and cowardly. I'm sure you know that the Britannian population here in Japan doesn't oppose us in the same way that they do the terrorist cells or the JLF. Some are even quite sympathetic to what our message is as Black Knights. Cornelia is letting us do all these little raids in order to paint a picture for the people that reduces us to weak and cowardly terrorists that do nothing but strike from the shadows. The same way that most Britannians see the JLF, especially after Kawaguchi."

"That was...unexpectedly deep, Euphie." Zero commented as he stared at her from the other side of the table. "I had not even considered that a bloodthirsty warrior like Cornelia would sacrifice her own troops and equipment for a PR boost."

"I know my sister. If she really believes that undermining our image is critical for victory, then she would go pretty far to get it done." Euphie said back..

"Since you were the only one of us sharp enough to see what was really happening, what do you suggest we do?" Zero asked. Had there been more heads in the room, they would certainly have turned. It was very rare that Zero actually asked someone else for the basis of a strategy.

"Cornelia is trying to make us look weak. We need to show the people that we are not just another terrorist group before her view sinks in." Euphemia answered.

"Correct. The reason she is able to do this is rather simple. Cornelia is the personification of Britannian might in Area 11. Her conquests and battlefield exploits are well known. Zero, however, is a mask. Zero is mysterious, a faceless icon. Cornelia can easily exploit that fact to her advantage. We need our own faces of strength." Zero said as his mask shifted toward Kallen.

"Wait...me?" Kallen hesitantly asked as she looked around to see that everyone had followed their leader's gaze.

"Not just you Kallen, I did say faces after all." Zero answered as he turned back to Euphemia who judging from the grin on her face, knew exactly what her brother was thinking. "The two of you will become the public faces of the Black Knights' military. As I'm sure you are all aware, Todou is being held in a maximum security Britannian military prison awaiting his execution date in fifteen days. I am planning an operation to free him. You will make your public debut there. Spend the next two weeks wisely, especially acquiring valuable combat experience for Euphemia." Zero moved to go upstairs, and Kallen followed him.

They locked the door behind them as they entered the room. Zero barely had time to get his mask off before he was pulled down onto the bed from behind. Kallen flipped him onto his back and jumped on top, kissing him as she sandwiched him between herself and the exceptionally soft bed. Twenty seven seconds later, Lelouch could breathe again.

"Missed you too."

* * *

Cornelia walked up to the raised podium in front of the assembled media personnel. Ten large cameras were aimed at her from several different angles. The thought of what she was about to say to the world gave her a sickening feeling. It had been 28 days since the Battle of Narita, and it had been exactly a month since Princess Euphemia had been seen in public. Although there had been no official statement, rumors about her fate had spread faster than a fire in a dry forest.

There were dozens of different opinions as to how, but the prevailing public opinion was that the princess was dead. Euphemia was a public figure, and had never before disappeared for so long without any sort of announcement.

It had been the most painful time in Cornelia's life, and as she stood before the cameras and ravenous media, the terrible pain that she had fought so hard to subdue was beginning to break free once again.

"It is with the greatest sadness that I must share with the world the terrible fact that Third Princess Euphemia, my beloved little sister, has been stolen from us. Her vibrant light was forever darkened not by our enemies who would openly stand against us in their own uniforms, but by vile traitors wearing ours.

It was during the disastrous Battle of Narita that the Purist faction suddenly and deliberately turned our nation's weapons against us, and assassinated my sister as she commanded the evacuation and treatment of our soldiers wounded in the line of battle." Cornelia was unable to totally hold back the emotions desperately attempting to claw their way out. She felt her eyes begin to tear up as she spoke. "I personally executed those traitors without mercy as they attempted to repeat their vile actions upon myself." Cornelia made her discomfort visible to those in attendance. She paused before a very brief ending and quickly exited, ignoring the media's barrage of incoming questions.

* * *

Several miles away on the second floor of the Ashford Academy's student council clubhouse, Nunnally Lamperouge listened to Cornelia's announcement as it came through their TV's speakers. Sayoko sat next to her and watched the announcement. Half way through the Viceroy's speech, They heard the door open behind them. The two figures that entered the room remained silent until Cornelia finished her emotional announcement. Sayoko turned to see Lelouch signaling for her to remain quiet.

"Is it really true Lelouch? Is Euphie really dead?" Nunnally asked as Lelouch approached her.

"Yes Nunnally, Euphie really is dead." Her brother answered. Nunnally felt someone grab her hand. Years of blindness had taught her to be able to read the feel of a hand just as a person would identify the look of a face. She immediately knew that it wasn't Lelouch or Sayoko. The hand was soft, smooth, and gentle. The figure pulled her into a hug as Lelouch finished. "Just like we are."

As the realization of what was happening hit her, Nunnally simply could not find words for the feeling. She reached up and hugged her suddenly not so dead sister back. Nearly a minute passed before Nunnally broke the silence.

"I couldn't believe it when they said you had died."

"Neither could anyone else. I wish I could have come to see you earlier, but the risk of someone recognizing me was just too great." Euphemia explained to her little sister. Being blind, Nunnally could only recall the image of last time that she had actually seen Euphemia, over seven years ago. While her explanation was not an out right lie, it would be very hard to identify her as Euphemia to the untrained eye. Following Lelouch's precise instructions, she had her hair cut to shoulder length, dyed it black, and was wearing green eye color changing contact lenses.

As Nunnally and Euphemia started to catch up on years of lost time, Sayoko came much closer to Lelouch.

"How did you do it? The Black Knights defeated Britannia at Narita." The maid asked him.

"We annihilated them. It's quite easy to fake someone's death when you kill almost everyone else."

"We, master Lelouch? You are with the Black Knights?" Lelouch chuckled as she asked that question.

"My Black Knights." Lelouch's wording instantly gave form to the chaotic swirl of information flowing through Sayoko's head.

"Zero." Sayoko said to herself as everything suddenly made sense. That was where Lelouch had been disappearing to all those times. That was why he was always gone whenever the Black Knights made a significant appearance.

"How many people do you know of Sayoko, that could declare war upon a third of the world and actually expect to win?"

"It makes sense now. Everyone thought you were just lazy, that you couldn't be bothered to truly do something useful with your genius mind. But now I see that all this time you were aiming higher than anyone could have imagined. Is there anything I can do to help?" Sayoko asked.

"The OSI are snooping around the academy. While I don't think that they are specifically looking for us, I can't afford for them to get lucky. Do what you can to keep this location from being compromised. But if it comes down it, do whatever it takes to protect Nunnally. Please Sayoko, there is no one else I can trust to do this." As he finished speaking, Sayoko stepped forward and hugged him, much to Lelouch's surprise.

"I am happy to do whatever you need of me Lelouch." She let go and turned as if she was about to walk away, but paused and looked back. "When you said 'whatever it takes', does that mean I am Nunnally's Roberta?" She asked Lelouch with a grin.

"Please tell me you aren't wearing fragmentation grenades under that outfit." Lelouch joked as he picked up what she was implying.

"No, but I wouldn't mind having a shotgun umbrella." Sayoko replied with a smile.

"As you wish, Rosarita."

* * *

The phone in Cornelia's office at the top of Tokyo's government building rang again. She had lost count of how many completely pointless calls she had received in the last few days since her announcement. The Viceroy pulled the cork from the bottle of Bacardi 8 on her desk and poured a shot to the rim. While she rarely drank in the past, Cornelia had come to enjoy rum over the last few weeks. It was one of the only ways to dull the realization that four of her siblings had died in this Area, and she had thus far been unable to avenge them. She powered down the shot before picking up the phone on the fifth ring. The ID indicated that the call was from a nearby military airbase. The plastic touched her right ear, and the voice that came through sent a chill down her spine.

"I was wondering when you would pick up, Viceroy." The cold, artificial voice entered her ear.

"Of all the men and monsters in the world, you dare to call me, Zero." Cornelia responded with audible malice.

"Such anger in your voice. That's not very ladylike of you."

"I'm assuming you called me for a reason other than to make me want to shoot this phone." Cornelia answered him.

"The JLF are gathering everything they have left for a massive final strike at Yokohama and its surrounding bases in just about 20 hours." Zero told her.

"And you are telling me this why? I didn't think you were the kind of person to sell out your friends." Cornelia asked, very surprised at what she had just heard.

"Officially, the Order of Black Knights and the Japan Liberation Front have a sort of working agreement. Unofficially however, I find their continued existence rather annoying. We saved too many of them at Narita. I want you to exterminate them." Zero instructed.

"Why should I believe a word you say? You, the monster that stole my sister and brother from me."

"I don't care if you believe me or not. Either way, my enemies are going to be killing each other. It would just be easier for me if only Britannians remain standing when this battle ends." He explained.

"But why? Why are you asking me to kill your own people?" Cornelia asked, not believing that this was genuine advice and not some elaborate trap.

"It is as you said, Cornelia. The JLF are nothing more than relics of a forgotten age. They have refused to join me, instead fighting on their own. All they want is to restore the old Japan. They seem to have forgotten how weak and corrupt the old system really was. When we Black Knights win this war there will be no place for people like them. Our visions of what the future should be have little in common. I can't do it myself so easily. Ordering Japanese to kill Japanese would cause a lot of problems. Your people however, would be glad to do the shooting for me. Besides Cornelia, a decisive victory would help to convince the people, and more importantly the emperor, that you aren't completely incompetent."

As he finished speaking, Zero could practically feel Cornelia's anger. It wouldn't have been surprising to him if she really did shoot the phone until her magazine ran dry.

* * *

Zero hung up and looked again at the battle plan he had drawn up. He had outlined a dozen targets in Yokohama and the city's three surrounding bases. At face value the JLF would be theoretically be strong enough to win the battle. Although Cornelia was skeptical, he was certain that she would buff up the city's defenses.

"Are you certain that is such a good idea?" CC asked as she put a hot Pizza Hut box down on the table.

"In the long run the JLF will end up being a problematic obstacle. Those that remain after Narita are racists and hardcore nationalists. If they were still here in the end, they would do nothing more than invert the status quo, making Britannians just as oppressed as the Japanese are in the ghettos right now. We would effectively trade one oppressive system for another, and I would have no easy option of eliminating them. Regardless of who prevails at Yokohama, I win in the end." Zero explained to the witch as she loaded plates with slices of steaming hot pepperoni pizza. She handed him a small plate with 2 slices on it, keeping the one with four for herself.

"Here you go." She said seductively as she put the pizza down on top of the papers he was studying.

"Am I hallucinating, or did you really just give me pizza?"

"What's wrong Lelouch? Don't want it?" CC began to reach for one of the slices, but Lelouch reached it first.

"I'm just surprised. You have to have some motive other than being nice." He said as CC chomped down a slice. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms arms around him from behind. "I'm already taken, CC."

"Who ever said that I was trying to steal you away? Kallen can have your heart, Lelouch. I just want the rest of you." Lelouch laid his head back to see the witch looking down at him. As their eyes met, Lelouch realized just how right she was. His heart wanted to run away and cuddle with Kallen.

There was something so deeply satisfying about being wrapped up under a blanket with her. It was such a warm, soft, and happy feeling. As he had found out when she went back to Narita, it was also addictive. It was as if there was a constant, dull pain in his chest that only Kallen's warm embrace could soothe. No matter how many times Lelouch found himself in bed with CC wrapped around him, it was never the same.

"Alright I get it, resistance is futile." Lelouch said as he moved to get out of the chair.

"Tell me Lelouch, which of us is better?" CC asked after she laid back on the bed.

"In what way exactly?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"You are. But I wouldn't say Kallen is any worse." Lelouch told her as he opened the last button on his academy uniform.

"Hmm?" CC looked at him with her big curious eyes.

"Neither one of you is really better than the other, you just have more experience. Now lets make this quick so we can get some sleep. I know you don't want to miss Milly's party tomorrow."

"Do I really have to dye my hair again?"

"Yes CC you have to dye your hair. Consistency is an extremely important part of maintaining an alias." Lelouch told the witch next to him.

"Is there going to be more pizza this time?" Lelouch responded by lighting his left eye.

"Already taken care of." He assured her.

"You used Geass to have more pizza ordered. Oh this is going to be fun!"

* * *

General Katase pulled his Burai up next to another in the forest near the western end of Yokohama. Just 100 meters past the treeline stood the wire fence that marked the boundary of one of the three Britannian military bases that surrounded the city. The leader of the JLF looked over at his force deployment screen. The array of red shapes formed a complete ring around Yokohama, broken only by the coastline, showing that his forces were in position. Arrayed on the map of the city and outlying bases were a number of blue shapes, the known positions of Britannian forces.

The faint red rings around the general's eyes brightened slightly as he prepared to break radio silence. Katase keyed the radio and gave the orders that the entirety of the JLF had been waiting for. The entire remaining combat force of the JLF readied their weapons and equipment. 64 Burai knightmare frames, 5 Raikou cannons, 18 Type 10 heavy tanks, and masses of heavily armed infantry charged forward to attack.

The JLF were not aware that the Britannian forces had been alerted to their strike in advance. As JLF knightmares sped out of the forest and onto open ground, the defending Britannians immediately opened fire. Although the JLF was planning on surprising the enemy, it was the Britannians who had the element of surprise. Well concealed Panther tanks around the western base opened fire from under their camo netting.

The incoming JLF Burai frames began evasive maneuvers, dodging most of the incoming 130mm armor piercing rounds. The several that did hit caused critical damage to the knightmares. In any other battle the pilots would have ejected, but it was clear to them that this was all in. The disabled and burning knightmares opened fire with whatever weapons they could still use, intent on providing some measure of suppressive fire.

25 mm tracer rounds arced into the Britannian base. Sutherlands quickly moved to find cover, many behind the Panther tanks, whose thick frontal and side armor provided protection against the rain of explosive rounds. The Sutherlands returned fire, using the tanks as shields. Units on both sides quickly began to fall as the battle continued.

Cornelia's royal purple Gloucester rushed forward to engage the JLF forces attacking the northern base. The JLF concentrated ten of their Type 10 tanks on this front. Normally tanks were easy prey for knightmare frames, especially those of expert pilots. Tanks with knightmare support were a far different story as each unit covered the weaknesses of the other. One good hit from a Type 10's 120mm cannon could outright destroy a Sutherland. The Gloucester could take a hit and keep going thanks to its superior armor and mass, but it would still be severely damaged.

"Cover us with your shields, Suzaku!" Cornelia ordered her knight. The Lancelot swiftly maneuvered in front of Cornelia and Guilford, Blaze Luminous energy shields leading the way as they closed on the enemy. Incoming JLF fire detonated against the green light, failing to stop them. As they got close enough, the three knightmares split up for individual targets. Suzaku deployed his Varis rifle and targeted a nearby Burai. The weapon charged for three seconds before launching a solid projectile at extreme speed. The plasma blast from the front of the barrel illuminated his experimental frame, glowing bright against the dark night.

The Varis round impacted the front of the Burai, effortlessly penetrating the frontal armor over the Core Luminous. As Suzaku watched the enemy frame explode along with its pilot, Cornelia's orders stuck in his mind. She had given him a direct order to kill the enemy.

"The only way a lowborn soldier like you is going to climb to the top is over a mountain of corpses. I don't care how well you can fight, if you cannot kill, you have no right to be a part of the Britannian military, or a knight for that matter." Cornelia had told him shortly before deployment. Suzaku was a man of discipline, and he had every intention of following the orders he was given. He had heard that the only way to get used to ending lives was by practice.

The Lancelot's left arm drew one of the MVS broadswords attached to the cockpit. The weapon began to radiate a red glow as it activated. Suzaku effortlessly dodged several bursts of incoming fire as he slashed through the two slash harkens coming toward him. He suddenly remembered what Kallen did to him in Lelouch's simulator. The Lancelot jumped up into a flip over the enemy Burai. He drove the MVS blade straight down through the JLF pilot's cockpit as he landed. The Burai fell over as he withdrew the blade and searched for more targets.

General Katase realized the JLF's inevitable fate as he looked at the screen next to him. His forces were inflicting casualties on the enemy, but they were severely outnumbered and quickly becoming surrounded as squads of Sutherlands flanked around the sides of their formations. At this rate the most they could hope for was an even trade. A flash of light caught his eye as a Type 10 tank exploded to his left. He felt a wave of fear as he recognized Cornelia's Gloucester pulling her lance from the burning wreck, the flames giving her the appearance of a demon rising up from hell.

With his own silver lance in hand, he prepared himself as he turned and charged forward. Cornelia's Gloucester stood upon the burning heavy tank, golden lance gleaming in the light of the fire. Cornelia turned and stared down the lance armed Burai charging single handedly at her. She waited a full five seconds before jumping off of the burning Japanese tank to meet her attacker head on.

Katase was a commander, not a top notch warrior. He fired his unit's slash harkens at the incoming Gloucester. Cornelia effortlessly dodged one and struck away the other with her lance. The fact that she had not even raised the rifle in her knightmare's left hand sent a clear message of just what she thought of her opponent. As the distance between them disappeared, Katase lunged forward, lance leading the way. Cornelia parried the blow away before firing her own slash harkens.

The JLF General saw his options melting away as his Burai's left arm came apart under the assault. Cornelia shifted her KAR 25 rifle up and fired a 70mm shotgun round at point blank range into the Burai's legs. A spray of glowing hot, sharp metal tore through the Burai's knees, forcing the unit to the ground.

"Katase Tatewaki. You are defeated, and your army is crumbling. Order your forces to surrender and I may be willing to listen to Kururugi's request to spare your lives." Cornelia announced to the sparking, crippled frame on the ground before her fully functional Gloucester.

"We Japanese will never surrender to you! We would rather die with honor than live in the shame and slavery of defeat!" Katase shot back at the warrior princess standing tall over his defeated form.

"It's just as Zero predicted. I'm not sure whether to be happy that you are about to die, or furious that I'm actually doing that monster's dirty work."

"Zero?" Katase asked, the side effects of Geass blanking his memory.

"Are you surprised that he sold you out? Zero told me about your plan yesterday. He personally asked me to eradicate you JLF scum. Not that I'll ever be telling the living about that. You may very well have won this battle. If it makes you feel any better for the last few seconds you have left, you were a brave man to challenge me yourself." Cornelia concluded as she reversed her grip on the golden lance. She paused for a second as she raised it up, taking in the moment of victory. The comm feed cut off as she drove the lance down through the Burai's cockpit, ending the JLF with one decisive action.

"Your highness, all enemy forces on this end have neutralized." Suzaku reported.

"Did you do as I said, Suzaku?" The princess asked her knight.

"Yes, your highness." Suzaku replied, guilt visible in his voice.

"How many?"

"I...I killed seven of them." He admitted.

"Excellent work Suzaku. I know what you're after, and there's only one way to get there."

"I understand, your highness."

"Tell me about it when we get back. It should make you feel better." Cornelia told him.

"Viceroy?"

"I guess I've inherited some of my sister's heart."

"Maybe that's her way of watching over you." Suzaku suggested as they drove their frames side by side back to Yokohama past the hundreds of corpses and dozens of burning vehicles that remained as the firing ceased.


	11. Maximum Security

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

"The Viceroy herself has just confirmed to us that the attacking JLF forces failed to penetrate Yokohama's exterior defensive line. All enemy forces were annihilated in the battle thanks to the timely and outstanding efforts of our intelligence agencies." Diethard Ried reported to the world.

Lelouch shut off the news broadcast on his phone and turned his attention back to more pressing matters. Chief among them was how in the hell he was going to get out of this party. As it would turn out, Milly once again pushed the limits of crazy by suddenly forcing everyone to dress up in cat costumes. Unbelievable as it was, Kallen actually seemed to enjoy being dressed up in a pinkish red fuzzy suit with cat ears.

Kallen made a series of cute nyaa sounds as her sleeping form repositioned. She was laying over Lelouch, her head resting on the arm of the couch, and her legs stretched out across the rest of it. He looked over to his left to see CC in her expertly crafted disguise, a stack of empty pizza boxes next to her.

Lelouch leaned back and took in the moment, as awkward as it was to be at a cat costume party. If everything went even reasonably according to plan in the next few days, they would not be able enjoy one of Milly's insane parties for a long time. It would cause significant harm to the Ashford family to continue to house a known terrorist and her associates on their campus.

As he looked over toward his right, Lelouch made eye contact with Shirley on the other side of the room. As Lelouch and Kallen's relationship spread around the school, Shirley went into denial about it. It was something that she could simply not mentally accept. He smiled at the orange headed girl. Shirley's expression shifted to that of a deer in headlights when she noticed the sleeping Kallen holding on to him. She stared for a few second before lowering her head and turning away.

Lelouch thought of wiggling away from Kallen and going to talk to Shirley, but decided against it. Suzaku came over and sat down on the chair next to them.

"So how true was that news report?" Lelouch asked the knight in his plain Ashford uniform.

"Pretty accurate for once. Intelligence tipped us off almost a day before the attack, and we had a substantial number of extra forces hidden in the area. They didn't exaggerate when they used the word 'annihilated'." Suzaku confirmed to him.

"You won. Shouldn't you be happier about that?"

"It's just that I...I've never been ordered to kill like that before." Suzaku replied with a slight undertone of discomfort in his voice.

"You'll get used to it eventually." Lelouch told him.

"Sounds like you know that from experience, Lelouch."

"I never did go into all the details of what happened to us post invasion. I found myself pulling the trigger more times than I can easily remember." Suzaku looked at him as if he was trying to imagine Lelouch actually shooting someone. "Blood is an acquired taste." Lelouch paused for a second. "So I'm assuming she gave you a couple days off to get over it?" Lelouch explained.

"Just today. The Prime Minister is making an unannounced visit to the Shikinejima naval airbase with the rest of the Camelot development team in two days. As the Lancelot's pilot and as a member of the Special Engineering Corps, I have been ordered to attend." Suzaku informed.

"Maybe Schneizel's crazy mad scientists have cooked up some new toys for you to play with." Of course, Lelouch already had a few ideas as to what they might be testing out there.

"I doubt they have anything better than the Lancelot yet."Suzaku said.

"Who knows. With all the money Schneizel pours onto his special weapons projects, I wouldn't be surprised if they have something much scarier than your white knightmare." Lelouch added. Lelouch already knew the details of what Schneizel was coming over from Europe to test. The preliminary designs of a gigantic knightmare equipped with all sorts of experimental technologies was buried in the mass of data that Lloyd had sent him.

"I'll just have to wait and see then. I don't mind surprises, as long as they aren't shooting at me."

* * *

"So why were you pretending to sleep back there?" Lelouch inquired as Kallen walked out of the dressing room in her original Ashford uniform. In the back of his mind, Lelouch almost wanted to ask Milly if he could have that cat girl costume. Kallen could beat Euphemia in a cuteness contest with it.

"I was really sleeping. I didn't get any rest yesterday, and the hot shower I took made me tired." Kallen explained.

"I know. But you did wake up when I was talking to Suzaku."

I...I didn't want to talk to him. Not before this operation."

"Trying to disassociate yourself from him?" Lelouch guessed. "I didn't think you would care how betrayed he's going to feel, knowing where his loyalties are."

"I don't. Suzaku at school feels more like a friend than the enemy. On the battlefield he's the complete opposite." Kallen told him as they walked out the door into the cool air under the starlight.

"And you anticipated that he would try to connect the two?" Lelouch asked as he delved into his partner's thought process. Kallen nodded. "I'm glad to see you thinking ahead."

"If there's one thing I've learned from you, it's that there is no such thing as too many advantages." Kallen responded with a smile.

"Indeed." Lelouch turned to walk along a different path. "This way Kallen, we have one last thing to do here tonight." Kallen pushed back her fatigue as she turned to follow him across the courtyard.

* * *

Kallen was unsure of what was about to happen as they approached what was clearly the headmaster's office. She had heard all sorts of crazy stories about Milly's grandfather, many from Milly herself.

The sound of Lelouch knocking on the solid wooden door pulled her back to reality. A muffled voice came through the door in reply, calling them inside.

"Ah, Lelouch! What can I do for you tonight?" Ruben Ashford greeted as they walked inside. Kallen shut the door behind her and turned to see a rather huge and luxurious office. In the center of the picture sat the headmaster behind his large cherry desk.

"Records manipulation." Lelouch replied as they pulled up two chairs. Ashford's expression shifted to a more serious tone.

"Is it wise to be talking about such things in front of a guest?" Ruben asked with caution.

"Kallen is just as deep in this as I am. Her's is one of the records I need altered." Lelouch informed him.

"You want me to erase official school records? What kind of trouble are you in this time, Lelouch?"

"Even worse than the first time I asked you for help. It would probably be best if you did not know the details."

"Trying to keep me in the dark? I've technically been committing treason by protecting you and Nunnally all these years. " Ashford reminded him.

"Should anyone find out that you were conspiring with us now, the list of charges against you would stretch from here to Pendragon."

"I've already done enough to warrant a public execution. What could you two have done that could be worse that treason?" Ruben asked the pair.

"Quite a bit." Kallen added.

"Alright I get it. You don't want to tell me. I'll stop asking." Ashford accepted.

"It's more for your protection than mine. I don't want to see this school and your good name end up as collateral damage." Lelouch told him as he handed over a list of names."Everyone on that list either never attended this school, or transferred out months ago." Two names were circled in red ink at the top of the list. " Just remember that Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge never existed."

"When do you want all this done by?" Ashford asked.

"Before 6:00 PM tomorrow night. It will be too late after that."

"Would it be safe to assume that I should be watching the news tomorrow night?"

"To call what's about to unfold tomorrow breaking news would be quite the understatement." Lelouch added as he go up. "You should be able to piece it all together from the broadcast."

"Don't forget Lelouch, if you ever need help, you know where to come." Ashford reminded him.

"It was nice to meet you Mr Ashford." Kallen said as she also got up to leave.

"If only the circumstances were not as grim. I'm not sure I want to know how a pretty young lady like you got involved in this cloak and dagger routine." Ruben said.

"Don't worry. Maybe we can dinner sometime when we don't have to look over our shoulders ever other second."

"Yes, I would like that."

* * *

Diethard Ried sighed as he leaned his head back, shifting his vision away from the enormous pile of papers on his desk. He fished a small key out of one of his suit's inside pockets. The key fit into a small covered lock on the front of a small compartment hidden on the inside of the desk. With a fine metallic click, the wooden door dropped down to reveal the secret area.

Ried reached into the compartment and felt around. He passed the pistol, three spare magazines, a knife, and a large bundle of cash before grabbing the bottle of vodka in the back. Being caught drinking on the job wouldn't make his day any better, but dulling the grind of desk work would.. He twisted off the top and took a rather large gulp, ignoring the burn. Diethard barely finished putting the bottle back into his secret stash when the phone on his desk started ringing.

He took his time getting up from under the desk to answer it. He did not bother to check the caller ID.

"I told you, you'll have the list of questions for the next interview tomorrow." He instantly shot into the phone, thinking it was another of his producers calling him to get work rushed.

"And just what interviews might those be?" A cold, synthetic, and chillingly familiar voice asked him back.

"Zero?" Diethard asked in a state of near shock at hearing that voice again.

"I liked the way you reported my freeing of Kururugi that night. Also, your upfront style of interviewing tends to get peoples' attention. How would you like the opportunity of a lifetime tonight?" Zero asked the reporter.

"You are offering me the chance to interview you?" Ried asked as if someone had just offered him a million ton pyramid of solid gold.

"That would be pretty bland. An interview with me wouldn't reveal anything new and interesting. I want you to interview my two strongest knights, the champions of our revolution." Zero told him.

"The people need heroes that they can identify with."

"You catch on quick Diethard. Shinjuku Arena, south entrance, eight hours. Come alone. There will be a car waiting for you." Zero instructed the eager journalist.

"I'll be there Zero!"

* * *

Suzaku slowly turned his head to the right, taking in the view. The midday sun shone down from directly above him. Small, puffy white clouds dotted the otherwise perfectly blue sky that stretched for as far as the eye could see. It seamlessly met the endless expanse of calm blue ocean at the distant horizon. As the slightly salty breeze blew over him, memories of a calmer, peaceful time came back to him. The fact that the deck was unusually clear helped to enhance the effect.

The HMS Yorktown's flight decks were rarely this empty. Being one of only two Salisbury class assault carriers stationed in Area 11, there were almost always aircraft on operations.

Suzaku looked around and spent a few moments taking in the enormity of the ship he was sitting on. The Yorktown was a floating fortress, projecting the might of the empire wherever she sailed. And today they were sailing south to the Shikinejima naval airbase. Prime Minister Schneizel had personally requested the attendance of Suzaku and the Lancelot. From what Lloyd had told him, they were going to take part in some kind of technology demonstration and weapons test that involved the entire Camelot research division.

Suzaku looked out over the forward horizon and saw their island destination had appeared next to the forward pair of heavy railguns. He got up and proceeded to go back to the hanger to inspect the Lancelot. Being both a knight and a person of non Britannian origin, he anticipated that the Prime Minister's expectations would be very high, and Suzaku was not about to disappoint him.

* * *

Three hours later, the HMS Yorktown docked at Shikinejima's artificial harbor. Five other ships were present as well. Suzaku counted three destroyers and one cruiser. The last one was different however. The vessel was easily as long as the Yorktown, but much thinner. There were no visible accommodations for aircraft or land units on the ship. The first thing that really stood out to Suzaku were the unit's four gigantic diamond shaped turrets, one huge railgun, much larger than the Yorktown's, mounted in each. They sat two on each side of the central tower, the inner turrets raised above the outer ones.

The knight looked closer and identified a staggering number of defensive armaments. He lost count of the number of radar controlled CIWS turrets at two dozen, his attention stolen by what appeared to be large turret mounted mirrors.

"What is that? I've never seen a ship like it before." Suzaku asked Cecile as they drove their transport vehicle onto a large elevator for disembarking.

"That's an Albion class battleship, the HMS Snowdonia I believe. It's a brand new design." The scientist informed him.

"I thought that ships like the Yorktown were built to handle direct fire support. Why resurrect the battleship?"

"While in theory Salisbury assault carriers are capable of filling the same role, take a good look at the Yorktown. The main body of the ship is armored well enough, but the flight decks and control tower are vulnerable to attack. Now look at the Snowdonia's design. The entire ship is heavily armored, and very angular. There is nothing on board that would be a liability in a direct firefight. That ship was built to both give and take a tremendous amount of punishment." Cecile thoroughly explained.

The HMS Snowdonia began to come closer as the battleship moved to exit the harbor.

"What are those Cecile? They look like some kind of mirrors." Suzaku asked her as he pointed to one of the eight odd looking turrets.

"They look like some kind of search lights. I'm sorry Suzaku, but I'm not a real expert on the navy, I can just sound like one." Cecile admitted with a smile just before the elevator became level with the dock. Cecile drove the knightmare transport vehicle along the road up to the command center located on a hill at the north end of the harbor. Suzaku sat in the passenger seat, bathing in the golden light reflected off of the HMS Yorktown and the four smaller warships in port. Off in the distance he could still make out the HMS Snowdonia glowing in the evening sun. Suzaku looked forward as the vehicle stopped. An officer in a spotless uniform came over to greet them.

"Cecile Croomy, Camelot research team. I was told to look for Lieutenant Colonel Fayer." Cecile spoke to the officer from the window of the transport.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Fayer ma'am. You can park that thing over there." He pointed to a spot near the command center. Cecile parked the transport and all three of them climbed out to meet Fayer in person.

"Now I'm sure you've been told that I'm in charge of this base, and officially I am. But in reality it's General Adelbern calling the shots for the duration of her stay here." Fayer pointed down off the hill to a line of fourteen M118 MLRS mobile rocket artillery vehicles, unofficially nicknamed Grid Smashers for the level of devastation they could inflict upon an area, lined up in front of a four meter tall wall of reinforced concrete. All four of them looked down just in time to see the rocket launch bays raise up.

"Live fire exercise commencing in thirty seconds! All personnel are to report to their designated positions and safe zones!" The general ordered over the base's loud speakers.

"Well I guess your eyes are in for one hell of a treat this evening." Fayer remarked as they watched the MLRS units unpack their weapons from the hilltop.

"Artillery firing!" came blaring out of the loud speaker. A second later the distinctive whoosh of rocket fire filled the air. All fourteen of the MLRS units fired in unison, their rockets trailing dozens of white streaks out toward the sea. Lacking binoculars, Fayer ordered one of his men at the command center's door to hand him a scoped battle rifle. He increased the weapon's zoom to 8x and handed it to Suzaku.

"Take a look."

Suzaku accepted the rifle and rested it in the most comfortable position possible as he looked down the scope. Off in the distance sat the HMS Snowdonia, directly in the line of fire. Suzaku watched in awe as the CIWS turrets remained still, but the missiles began exploding as if someone had just commanded them to do so. As the smoke from the detonated rockets filtered down toward the Snowdonia, eight flashing beams of red light became visible. Kururugi shifted the sight up and left to see the beams connecting with and destroying the incoming ordinance with incredible efficiency.

"Are those lasers?" Suzaku and Lloyd asked at precisely the same time.

"The HMS Snowdonia had been outfitted with eight experimental tactical high energy laser turrets. We've been testing those things out all week. So far they are proving very effective against rockets, cruise missiles, and even aircraft. The Navy is hoping to replace those traditional CIWS gun turrets with these multirole laser systems. Tests on land have shown that they can even shoot down incoming artillery shells. It's a very promising defensive solution for our fleet." Fayer explained to the attendant Camelot team members.

"I thought the navy was tight on research funding these days. Who's backing them now?" Cecile asked.

"Princess Carine has taken an interest in some of the navy's projects recently. Unofficially, she rather likes the PR benefits of being able to say that she's the one looking out for the safety of our sailors. Especially since she needs to stay on their good side for her campaign in Spain." Fayer replied. Before Fayer could say anything else, the speaker on his earpiece came to life. " The Prime Minister's ship is inbound, ETA ten minutes."

* * *

Zero slid the door to the mobile command center open and stepped inside. He looked over to the main table and saw Jeremiah and Viletta, already wearing their full suits of body armor, going over a copy of blueprints for the Chiba Maximum Security Military Prison, more commonly known as the Cmax, with two other members of their assault squad. Zero glanced down at the paper to see that they had thoroughly mapped out infiltration and exfiltration points, patterns of movement, known choke points, and the location where the Guren was to use her radiation claw to break in. Each line on the sheet had a number written next to it. These were the estimated times that each movement should take to remain on schedule.

Zero looked over to his right to find Euphemia, wearing her spotless red and white pilot suit, typing away on a Toshiba laptop.

"Euphemia, come with me for a few minutes, I have a surprise for you." She looked up, puzzled by the idea of a surprise less than two hours before they were supposed to move out. She typed one last thing before shutting the computer and following her brother out of the vehicle.

"What is it?" The princess asked as she followed closely. Zero remained silent until they turned the corner past a row of black Burai frames and came face to face with it. Euphemia's Gloucester had been recolored black with pink highlights. The large golden lance was missing, twin swords attached to the back of the shoulders replacing it. Two assault rifles were attached to magnetic clamps, one on each leg. Upon the unit's left wrist was a large diamond shaped bracer, the edges appearing to be made of a green glassy substance. Attached to the sides of the cockpit were a pair of large triangular devices. The original cape hanging from the shoulders had been replaced with a black one, a silver Black Knights insignia in the center.

"Is that my Gloucester?" Euphemia asked, slightly awed by the significant remodeling.

"Stored within a large amount of Britannian weapons research data that I managed to acquire was a project called Benowyc. Benowyc is a prototype upgrade package for the Gloucester that incorporates technology battle tested on the Lancelot. With Nina's expert help and a few favors, I had the entire thing completed and constructed, just for you." Zero informed her. He noticed the visible smile on Euphemia's face as he continued to explain.

"The standard Gloucester that you acquired at Narita has been customized and enhanced. The lance has been replaced by a pair of Maser Vibration Swords, similar to the weapons that the Lancelot is armed with. Your left arm has been equipped with a Blaze Luminous energy shield, although it is weaker than the originals from the Lancelot due to the power constraints of the Gloucester frame. The Benowyc improvements won't make your frame a match for the Lancelot, but you will share many of its advantages."

"So it's like a weaker version of the Lancelot?" The pilot asked.

"Except for one of my own innovations." Zero pointed to the triangular shaped on the cockpit sides.

"What are those?" Euphemia wondered.

"Jump jets. Twin afterburning high powered jet engines almost allow your frame to fly. With those you can add additional acceleration on the ground, or perform jet assisted jumps in excess of one hundred meters."

"I've never seen anything like that before." She remarked. Lelouch put his gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Angels are supposed to have wings, Euphie. Until I can figure out how to make a knightmare fly, those will have to be a suitable replacement." She looked back at the masked figure with a renewed sparkle in her eyes. "Now go prepare yourself, it is almost time to go."

"I'm on it." Euphemia replied energetically.

* * *

"Where is it? I don't see any ships coming in to port." Suzaku observed as his eyes scanned the sea for Schneizel's ship. Fayer chuckled.

"I thought you guys would have known, since you've all worked for him for quite some time now." The lieutenant colonel said as he pointed to what initially appeared to be an arbitrary point in the sky. All three of them turned to look. Up in the sky they spotted something large moving under the clouds. Suzaku focused his vision on the aircraft. Instead of a common fixed wing transport aircraft, he saw something resembling a flying fortress. "The experimental flying battlecruiser, Avalon. It's the world's first combat airship. The Prime Minister recently started using it as his personal transport since it's technically the most secure aircraft in the empire."

"So they finally got the float systems working. What kind of other goodies did they put on it?" Lloyd asked the seemingly all knowing Fayer.

"Don't know sir, I've never actually seen the Avalon up close. I've been told that it's supposed to have 'significant combat power', whatever that actually means." Fayer told him.

"Could that be what he's coming to test?" Cecile wondered aloud.

"There has to be something else." Suzaku stated as if it were a known fact. "If all the Prime Minister wanted was a live fire test of a flying battlecruiser, why not do it in real combat against the EU?"

"In other words, you think it's something secret he doesn't want the Euros to see?" Fayer asked.

"We'll know soon enough." Lloyd stated as the noticably huge airship came in to land in a clearing just east of their position at the harbor's command center.

* * *

Diethard Ried turned left past the last building to reach the Shinjuku Arena's old parking lot at the south entrance. The reporter looked around the parking lot and saw nothing but a few isolated piles of rubble amid a sea of empty asphalt. For a second, he thought that the Black Knights might have set him up. He quickly decided that it was against their character to ambush an unarmed civilian, and discarded the idea before beginning his advance across the empty lot.

As he approached the entrance, a black car pulled out from a side street and went over a low curb onto the lot. The vehicle pulled up next to him just outside the entrance. The right back window came down a crack.

"Mr Ried?" A voice inquired from inside the vehicle. Diethard nodded at the window. The door opened to reveal an empty seat in the back.

"We've been expecting you. Get in." The voice commanded. Diethard stepped inside and sat down. He immediately noticed that this was not a normal car, but a very short limo. He sat down in what should have been the back seat, only to see another pair of rear facing seats across from him. Two visored Black Knights occupied the rear facing leather seats. The man on the left was holding a Britannian military issue assault rifle. The man on the right had his hands resting on an Italian made, 32 round drum fed automatic 12 gauge shotgun.

The door shut by itself, controlled remotely by the driver seperated from them by a sheet of armored glass. The man on the left put his rifle down next to his partner before coming closer. He drew some kind of rod like device from his uniform. The Black Knight hit a button on the rod and began to scan Diethard with the device, which emitted a constant audible tone. Seconds later, he completed the scan and went back to his seat before hitting a button on the space between the seats.

"He's clean. No explosive compounds or signal emitters." The man reported to the driver, who proceeded to start moving. The other man stepped forward.

"Sorry, but we are under strict orders to keep the location of our bases safe." He opened a compartment under the rear seat and produced a heavy black blindfold and a headset. "You'll be wearing these until we arrive." The guard blindfolded Diethard and told him to put the headphones on. The Britannian was instantly amazed by the level of noise reduction. Three seconds later the headphones turned on.

"I've seen the blueprints."

"Better than that, got em right here."

* * *

Grass in the field flattened away in all directions as the Avalon landed. The glow emanating from the flying battlecruiser's float systems faded away at the unit's landing gear gently met the ground below. With a metallic snap, the locking mechanisms disengaged, and a large section of the ship's underside opened as a ramp down to ground level.

A Gloucester was the first thing to come down the ramp. The unit was colored white with red highlights that looked like it was covered in blood spatter. As the Gloucester touched the grass, another , much larger figure appeared at the top of the ramp. A gigantic black knightmare began to descend from the ship. The unit's gold highlights gleamed in the setting sun. The unit's shoulders were large forward facing cones. Mounted on the knightmare's back was a dark red device with six thin limbs that protruded away from the center.

As Fayer and the Camelot members took in the sight of the knightmares moving toward them, General Adelbern and two other officers walked up beside them. The cockpit of the large black knightmare opened first, revealing a stepped two seat configuration, similar to the cockpit design of a Shortsword gunship.

Two lines came over the sides, carrying the occupants to ground level. The Gloucester's pilot disembarked seconds later to join them. All in attendance immediately recognized the man in the center as Prime Minister Schneizel. The other two, however, were not as well known to them. The ornate uniforms they wore bore the royal crest on the chest, signifying that they were people of immense importance. On Schneizel's right was a tall woman. Her space black hair and piercing blue eyes radiated an aura of commanding authority. Walking on the other side was a slightly shorter man wearing an identical uniform. His bright orange hair stood up as if he wore a crown of flames.

General Adelbern was the first to speak as they approached.

"Welcome to Area Eleven, your highness."

"It's good to finally be here. It feels nice to stand on solid ground again after flying to far." Schneizel commented as he took a look at the naval base in front of him. He turned to take in the view of the trees to his right and the ocean on his left, just as it swallowed the last sliver of the sun's disk.

"Excuse me, your highness, those are the uniforms of the Knights of Rounds, are they not?" Fayer asked the Prime Minister.

"Indeed they are." Schneizel motioned to the man on his left. "Allow me to introduce my assistants and personal escorts for my business here. This is Luciano Bradley, Knight of Ten." He then motioned to the woman on his right. "And this is Secilia Vasburg, the honorable Knight of Two."

"Judging from spotless purple and gold coat you are wearing, you must be the pilot of the Lancelot. Suzaku, right?" Secilia asked in a disturbingly calm and hauntingly beautiful voice. Suzaku nodded.

"Sir Kururugi Suzaku, my lord." Suzaku replied.

"Where is Viceroy Cornelia? I was expecting her to be here since she was impressed enough to knight one of my test pilots." Schneizel asked Suzaku.

"The Viceroy is currently at the Chiba maximum security facility. Kyoshiro Todou is set to be executed tonight, and she insisted on overseeing the execution." Suzaku explained.

"Overseeing an execution? That seems quite out of my sister's character."

"She anticipates that the Black Knights may try to stage a rescue mission to free him. Her highness is there to personally lead our defense, should she be right." the knight continued.

"That sounds more like the Cornelia I remember, her thirst for battle unquenchable." Schneizel remarked at hearing the real explanation. "You've fought them. Are these terrorists actually giving her as much trouble as I've been led to believe?"

"With respect, your highness, the Black Knights should not be grouped together with the rest of Area Eleven's resistance groups. While most of the other remaining resistance groups can be classified as traditional terrorists, the Black Knights resemble a professional army more than a terrorist insurgency. They are well funded, very well equipped, well trained, and extremely dedicated." Suzaku informed.

"Terrorists, professionals, whatever. They'll still bleed when I shoot them." Bradley remarked.

"Now now, vampire. This time your victims might not roll over and beg without a fight." Secilia taunted him with his nickname.

"Vampire?" General Adelbern asked.

"The Europeans call him 'The Vampire of Britannia', which is quite ironic considering I'm the only one of us that actually drinks blood."

"Because you are some kind of demon, Secilia." Luciano replied to her.

"Have I mentioned that I'm the only woman that the vampire refuses to sleep with? Last time I tried he said something about not sharing a bed with demons and monsters until he's the King of Hell."

"If you two don't mind, I would like to get started. General, are the preparations that I requested complete?" Schneizel interrupted them.

"Yes, your highness. We've set up the range you requested just north of the island's airbase."

* * *

Euphemia pushed in the key and typed out the nine digit authentication key. As she felt the hum of the Gloucester's start up process, she thought back to that day at Narita. It still felt slightly strange to know that she had killed the knightmare's former owner and pulled the blood covered key from his dead body. If she was even half the pilot that she was now back then, this battle would not be about to happen.

She looked to her right and saw the Guren powering up as well. Euphemia wondered how her sister felt when going through this exact same process. One of her screens lit up, breaking that line of thought. On the screen appeared Kallen, wearing an identical white and red pilot suit.

"Nervous, Euphie?" The ace asked her friend.

"Excited. This is the first battle I get to fight start to finish."

"You're lucky. I was scared my first time. The Britannians had this aura of invincibility. It really felt like I was about to take on the world." Kallen told her.

"I couldn't imagine you being scared. You're always so confident when you fight." Kallen smiled back at her.

On the other side of their gigantic warehouse base, Ougi noticed Naginata siege tanks being loaded into three trucks as he drove his Sutherland toward the base's main elevator.

"Why are we bringing siege tanks, Zero? I thought this was going to be a close quarters fight." The Black Knights commander asked his leader.

"It is going to be a very up close fight. The tanks are going to a different location to provide us with sniper support from long range. They won't be anywhere near the battlespace." Zero explained as three Burai frames loaded into the trucks with the tanks, one tank and one knightmare in each. Minutes later, all three of them descended the elevator down into the dark tunnels.

* * *

The three transport trucks drove up from an old subway entrance, the area widened by explosions from a previous conflict there. They turned on to a main road near the edge of the ghetto they surfaced in, and went east.

Twenty minutes later, they were moving one after another to the top of a nine floor elevated parking lot. As they reached the roof, the back doors opened and the Burai knightmare frames exited the vehicles. A quick look around showed that there were only a few vehicles parked this far up, in contrast to the congestion of the lower levels.

Three Naginata siege tanks rolled out from the transport trucks as their escort knightmares moved cars out of the way on the north side of the lot. The tanks pulled up to the north end of the roof and deployed their high powered railguns.

Three squads of infantry disembarked from the vehicles and took positions around the roof. They quickly unpacked their shoulder launched anti aircraft weapons. Once the shooting started, the most likely Britannian response would be some form of air attack, considering their distance of over 9600 meters from the main area of operations. The knightmare pilots knew this as well. One of the three Burai frames was equipped with an Archer SAM pack. The other two were equipped with customized 70mm fragmentation rounds for their assault rifle mounted grenade launchers, loaded with proximity fuses to increase the chance of damaging enemy aircraft.

In the eastern most tank, Inoue looked through her optics into the prison's courtyard, nearly ten kilometers away.

"Zero, we're in position and ready. From this angle I can see twelve Sutherlands in the courtyard, and a significant Britannian infantry presence on the walls. I can't distinguish whether they are MP's or regular military from this distance." Inoue reported to the Black Knights waiting much closer to the facility.

"Any sign of Cornelia?" Zero asked.

"Negative. But there are plenty of places in there that we cannot see from this angle." Inoue informed him.

"Maintain readiness and be prepared to open fire on my signal. Enemy knightmares take priority."

"Understood."

* * *

On the east wall of the courtyard, Sergeant William Rurik was slowly walking south toward a guard tower at the front of his four man patrol.

"You think we're really gonna get hit tonight? There's only four hours left until that Eleven gets executed." A man behind him, Private Turner, asked.

"It's getting pretty close. If they were gonna try and bust him out of here, I think they would have tried by now." Rurik replied to him.

"Still, I wouldn't let my guard down until the time's up and we're going home." A third member of the squad said.

"Yeah, you're right. The Black Knights have a reputation for doing all sorts of crazy shit as soon as you stop expecting it." Rurik noted. A second later, three flashes of light caught their attention off to the south.

"Hey Sarge, what was th-" The soldier's sentence was cut short by the deafeningly loud combination of sonic booms and explosions as extreme velocity railgun fire connected with Sutherlands in the courtyard below them. Three units were hit in the initial volley. One pilot ejected as his frame was cut in half at the waist. The other two weren't as lucky. The ultra hardened kinetic penetration rounds pierced their cockpit blocks, detonating the power supplies and triggering large explosions.

"Everybody down!" Rurik ordered to his squad as he hit his radio. "We're taking some kind of anti knightmare sniper fire from the south!" He yelled into the radio. Before he even finished talking, the Sutherlands in the courtyard began moving for hard cover to escape the lethal railgun fire.

* * *

"All forces commence attack!." Zero ordered his Black Knights, who were by this point intimately familiar with the operation's original battle plan. Those close to Zero knew that he frequently referred to a prearranged battle plan as 'the opening move'. This was the phase of the battle that he could simply order to be carried out, as it required very little real time adaptation. "Q2, clear the courtyard while our forces breach the walls."

"Understood, I'm going in." Euphemia replied. As the Black Knights broke cover to reach the south wall, Euphemia's upgraded Gloucester pulled ahead as she pushed the accelerator. She pulled the KAR 25 rifles from the magnetic clamps on her unit's legs and raised them before engaging her unique advantage. The custom Gloucester performed the knightmare equivalent of a running jump toward the wall. Jets of blue white fire erupted from her jump packs to propel her frame high into the air.

On the ground below, Britannian forces were stunned to see a Gloucester fly up into the sky before the southern wall. Euphemia engaged her rifles and took aim at two side by side Sutherlands in front of her. 25 mm rifle fire streamed down, tearing the exposed units apart and forcing the pilots to eject.

As she landed inside the courtyard, other enemy Sutherlands opened fire with their own assault weapons. The black Gloucester's left arm came up and activated the unit's lone energy shield as the right arm returned fire. Euphemia closed the distance as her shield absorbed incoming fire. Just as the shield strength indicator dropped under 30%, she disengaged the shield, opening fire with both rifles and her unit's slash harkens.

Two of the Britannian units fell, but the third was saved thanks to its police issue riot shield. Q2 wasted no time as she reactivated the energy shield, placed her right arm's rifle back on its clamp, and drew an MVS broadsword from the Gloucester's shoulder. The Britannian's fire ate away at the shield integrity, but it was simply not enough firepower to break it in time. He brought up his large metal riot shield in an attempt to block the incoming sword, but it was of no use. Euphemia's glowing red blade effortlessly sliced through the plate of metal, and then through the Sutherland behind it.

She turned to engage other targets in the courtyard.

* * *

Viceroy Cornelia powered up her Gloucester on the other side of the facility. She was joined by Guilford's Gloucester and several Sutherlands as they raced to the unfolding battle. A desperate sounding transmission came from a Sutherland pilot at the scene.

"This enemy Gloucester can fly! It's got a fucking energy shield, we cant touch it! They're breaking through the walls!"

Cornelia became alarmed at the report of another advanced enemy knightmare. It would be a serious challenge to deal with just the red one.

The two Gloucesters turned the last corner into the south courtyard, just in time to see a railgun shot from a distant Naginata disintegrate the top of a watch tower. One of the Sutherlands behind her opened fire upon the lone Gloucester at the other end of the open ground. They were all astonished to see it activate a Blaze Luminous shield and leap into the air.

Their attention was diverted by an explosion on the wall to their right. The Black Knights had penetrated the wall with a combination of shaped charges and the Guren's radiation surge. Said red knightmare was the first unit to charge forth from the dust and smoke, followed closely by a dozen other black knightmares.

Chaos reigned as another squad of Britannian Sutherlands reinforced from the other end of the courtyard. The hot metal to air ratio increased significantly as both sides exchanged fire in all directions.

Cornelia dodged to the left as the airborne black Gloucester rained fire down on her. As her enemy landed, she brought up her rifle and returned fire. Euphemia raised her left arm and blocked the fire with her shield as she charged forward. The Viceroy's heart sank as she saw her enemy's twin swords begin to give off a red glow. She was one of the few people who truly understood the power of MVS technology. Cornelia had personally witnessed Suzaku's own twin glowing swords slice through everything from knightmares to tanks with unbelievable efficiency. Sword met golden lance as their duel unfolded in the center of the swirling chaos of the courtyard.

* * *

Flying high above the combat zone, a white HiTV news aircraft aimed its cameras down upon the prison's courtyard. The unit's stabilized ultra high resolution forward mounted camera swept across the battlefield, bringing the fight live to millions of viewers around the world. Among them happened to be the crew of the Avalon, over 100km to the south.

Three hundred meters away from the landed airship stood Prime Minister Schneizel, the base commanders, and Camelot team members as they observed the first field trials of the Gawain technology demonstration knightmare. General Adelbern's headset crackled to life as the Avalon contacted her. She put her hands up to her head and covered the headset as she tried to hear over the noise of the Gawain's incomplete, although still powerful primary weapons.

The forward facing cone shoulders split open, revealing the unit's primary weapons, magnetically directed plasma cannons, known as Hadron Cannons. The weapons' magnetic shaping systems were incomplete, and thus unable to concentrate the superheated plasma into a coherent beam at long range. In it's current form they acted more like shotguns, spraying dozens of small plasma blasts over a conical area approximately 30 degrees in front of the knightmare.

As the firing stopped, the general tapped Schneizel on the shoulder and began to inform him of what was happening.

"Your highness, we are receiving reports from Chiba that the Black Knights are attacking the prison Sir Kururugi mentioned earlier in force." She received another transmission and immediately pulled out her phone. A few touches on the screen later, and the general had a live stream of the unfolding battle in the southern courtyard on her small screen. She handed the phone to the Prime Minister. "Viceroy Cornelia is currently engaged by some kind of heavily modified enemy Gloucester."

"It would appear that Sir Kururugi was spot on about the Black Knights being more than ordinary terrorists. That knightmare is definitely equipped with a modified version of our Benowyc Gloucester upgrade developed by Camelot. I'm slightly concerned that they not only managed to steal and construct it, but enhance it as well." Schneizel pointed out.

Less than ten minutes later, the test operations had been canceled, the knightmares loaded onto the Avalon, and the airship had taken off toward the battle zone.

* * *

On the ground in Chiba, Viceroy Cornelia couldn't have cared less that the whole world was watching her fight. She was being pushed to the edge of her abilities as a knightmare pilot. Her enemy's technological advantage was very significant. Just one good hit from one of those MVS swords would be enough to cripple her Gloucester, while the enemy's energy shield and jump jets gave her a much larger margin of error. Cornelia could not afford to make a single mistake, while her opponent could use her frame's superior equipment to recover from all but the most serious mistakes. Given the clearly high skill level of the pilot, Cornelia knew that she was unlikely to get that lucky.

Sparks showered down upon the concrete ground below as Cornelia parried another downward slash from her opponent's MVS sword. Her golden lance was the only thing she had that was tough enough to make sustained contact with an MVS blade, but each hit was wearing down the lance's integrity. The once smooth and shiny weapon was by now rough and blackened as the swords burned and sliced it with each defended strike.

The Viceroy did however have one crucial advantage over her enemy, combat experience. From the way her opponent was fighting, it was clear to her that they were very skilled in the art of knightmare combat, but they lacked the finesse of a veteran soldier. The only real reason that she could maintain an engagement against such an opponent for a long time was that she understood that a pilot that relied on intensive training fought in the most effective and efficient ways possible. This narrowed down the variety of their likely moves enough to give her a chance.

Cornelia was correct in her evaluation. Euphemia was a naturally talented, and highly trained knightmare pilot. She had become an expert in how to attack, defend, and utilize battlefield tactics, but she had little experience in actual fighting, where a battle of the minds was often just as important as physical conflict.

The Viceroy's royal purple Gloucester thrust her lance straight forward, intent on forcing the enemy to parry. As expected, her opponent utilized both swords to very effectively stop the thrust. In the split second when she could not defend against it, Cornelia launched her slash harkens into the assault rifle stored on the enemy Gloucester's right leg. The weapon exploded as the harkens ripped into, and detonated the magazine. The explosion caused moderate damage to the knightmare's right side.

Half a second later, a burst of red light off to the side caught her attention. Cornelia glanced over to Guilford's lance being boiled away by the Guren's radiation surge claw. He had attempted to parry a swipe of the incredibly sharp silver claw. When he blocked it, Kallen simply gripped the lance and fired her nuclear pulse emitter. The extreme blast of heat and radiation literally began to melt Guilford's weapon.

Cornelia glanced at her tactical map to survey the situation. With the ace pilots of both sides engaging each other, the regular forces had been fighting their own battle. Knightmare against knightmare, the Britannians were winning. This was certainly not another Narita. There had been no massive surprise attack to cripple their command structure. Britannian forces were doing what they did best, engage enemy units in direct combat.

And the reason for this was simple, Zero did not commit the entirety of the Black Knights' military force on this one attack. This was not supposed to be another set piece battle to show off to the world. At heart, the Black Knights' operation was a prison break, and a squad of elite Black Knights infantry were making it happen.

* * *

As the battle raged outside, most of the prison's security force had armed themselves with anti armor weapons and had moved out on to the walls to engage the attacking knightmares. Those that remained inside were not prepared for hardcore CQB.

Jeremiah Gottwald snaked a fiber optic camera around the corner as his squad stacked up against the wall behind him. The micro camera was linked to a screen in his helmet, allowing him to see if they were about to turn into an empty hallway, or prepared kill zone. He spotted a number of heavily armed Britannian soldiers on alert at the other end, covered three directions at once. He motioned to Viletta and his machinegunner, Kai.

Viletta produced a flashbang grenade and passed it forward. Kai readied his dual drum fed light machine gun. Connected to the barrel was a similar fiber optic camera device to what Jeremiah had, allowing Kai to effectively shoot around corners without exposing himself to enemy fire. Jeremiah popped the plastic cap, and pushed in the button on the flashbang, activating the four second fuse. He tossed the grenade around the corner with a series of metallic clank sounds as it bounced off the wall.

The device detonated, stunning four of the six enemy soldiers as intended. Kai put the barrel of his weapon around the corner and placed the crosshairs on his screen over the left most enemy. He squeezed the trigger, sending a burst of nine rounds, three of them tracers, sailing down the hallway and cutting through the intended target. Two of the rounds caught the man in the neck and overpenetrated, hitting the Britannian soldier behind him.

"Suppressive fire!" Jeremiah ordered as the team moved up. Kai send a torrent of hot metal down the hall, forcing the enemies to take cover in adjacent hallways. One of the blue uniformed Britannians popped out to fire back, but he was not fast enough. Jeremiah fired first, and four rounds impacted. Two were stopped by body armor, but one hit him in the neck, another through the right eye.

As Jeremiah moved up the right side, Viletta took the left. They each covered a different hallway as they advanced. They suddenly heard the familiar sound of a frag grenade being armed in the left hallway. Jeremiah flipped the safe off of his assault rifle's attached 40mm grenade launcher and quickly fired a low velocity high explosive grenade into the left hall. The resulting explosion was immediately followed up by a secondary detonation from the active hand grenade.

They moved up to cell number 304. Inside was their primary target, Kyoshiro Todou. Jeremiah quickly got to work cutting through the lock while the rest of the squad covered the area. Viletta placed an xray emitter on an exterior wall ten meters from cell 304. Less than a minute later, the wall at that spot caved in as the Guren blasted through it. An APC pulled up to the breach, its autocannon firing away toward enemy Sutherlands on the other end of the courtyard. Jeremiah and his team loaded Todou, still severely disoriented by point blank flashbang detonation, on to the vehicle along with themselves. The hatch closed and they began to move.

* * *

Euphemia pushed herself harder as the battle continued to rage all around her. Even though both she and her sister were fighting extremely well, neither of them had actually inflicted significant damage upon the other. Cornelia's lance was all but wrecked from Euphemia's constant assault. But her Gloucester's right arm had become sluggish after the assault rifle had exploded.

Blue and Black knightmares continued to trade fire on the west side of the courtyard. A combined 31 knightmares had been destroyed in the engagement, with 23 pilots successfully ejecting. The Naginata tanks ten kilometers distant were keeping the outnumbered Black Knights even with the Britannian forces. Their sniper support was the deciding factor in preventing the blue units from breaking through.

Cornelia began to feel the weight of inevitability sink in as she finally understood Zero's plan. The enemy Gloucester was keeping her engaged while the red knightmare cleared out the courtyard. Almost all of the other Black Knights' knightmares, along with their sniper support, had been tasked with holding back her reinforcements while they rescued Todou.

Despite her knight Guilford's most heroic and valiant efforts, he was no match for the silver clawed monster. His frame lay crippled on the ground, its arms, head, and left leg having been destroyed. Cornelia almost laughed at her seemingly inevitable fate as she realized that this was the second time that her direct orders had kept her greatest weapon out of the fight when it was needed most. It dawned upon her that she was most likely going to die, for exactly the same reason that her sister did.

Her knightmare was still almost fully functional, but she was trapped in the open between two enemy pilots with superior machines and equal or better skill levels. They both stood close to her, as if predators just waiting for the order to strike. An incoming transmission alert blinked, and Zero's mask appeared on her screen.

"Checkmate." Cornelia said in an uncharacteristically cold voice, the fire and aggression having drained away from her. "At least now I can die knowing that I stole the words right out of your mouth."

Zero laughed in response. He snapped his fingers and music began playing over the comm link. Her brain identified it as "The Light Before We Land", the same song that had been playing the last time she had faced her brother Lelouch across a chess board eight years earlier. She had been decisively beaten when her king had been trapped by a black queen and a black knight. The symbolic act was almost overwhelming to her.

Both knightmares surged forward. Cornelia turned to parry the incoming slash of the Guren's claw with what remained of her lance. The radiation blast that followed disintegrated the remainder of the weapon, leaving her all but helpless against the twin MVS blades coming up behind her. One blade sliced through her Gloucester's left arm, the other cutting through the front of her cockpit block, severing the fuses for the ejection rockets.

Cornelia fired her remaining slash harken, only for it to be effortlessly deflected by the Guren's left handed dagger. The silver claw lunged forward, grabbing on to the front of her frame. She felt an impact, followed by a metallic screeching sound as the Gloucester behind her forcibly tore the cockpit from her frame.

The remaining Black Knights deployed a heated smokescreen as they retreated to prevent Britannian units from using thermal sighted weapons on their backs.

* * *

Zero surveyed the results of the battle as they drove back down into the blackness of the old subway system. The Black Knights had lost 13 knightmares in less than a half hour, far more than anticipated. Every one of their frames, with the exception of the three guarding the Naginata tanks, had taken some level of damage. The six Britannian gunships sent to take out the tanks were shot down by SAM missiles before they had the chance to engage. 20 Britannian knightmares had fallen in the engagement, eleven of them from the Naginatas' accurate railgun fire. His primary objectives had been completed to perfection. Todou had been rescued from an otherwise certain death. Viceroy Cornelia had been defeated, thanks in no small part to his daring application of Geass.

As he removed his mask, Lelouch felt uncertain about the future. The last time he had defeated a Britannian leader, he had been replaced by someone far more capable. Lelouch felt a pang of rage as he suddenly understood that he was indirectly doing his father's dirty work. By defeating Cornelia he was fulfilling the unofficial Britannian motto that "only the strong survive." Whoever replaced Cornelia would almost certainly be even more powerful in some way. Barely twenty five minutes after his victory, Lelouch realized that he would either have to beat Britannia at its own game, or find a way to change the rules. A few seconds of thinking later, he decided on the one option he was sure they would never expect. He would find a way to do both.


	12. Breaking Point

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

Thanks to Slayer's End for bringing the number of reviews into triple digits.

Quick note: From here on, _Italics indicate that someone is speaking Japanese. _This is the first chapter where it matters since Cornelia knows at best only a few words of the language, while most of the Black Knights are bilingual to varying degrees. (Although never mentioned before, Euphemia has a firm understanding of Japanese after spending so much time with the Black Knights.)

This chapter starts just about 90 minutes after chapter 11 ends.

* * *

A steady hum of machinery could be heard near the rectangular hole in the floor. The elevator's engine pushed the platform's six hydraulic lifts up from the depths below, ending with a metallic creak as it reached ground level. Standing on the elevator's platform were six knightmares in two rows. In the back row were four black Burai frames, suffering various levels of damage from slash harken and explosive ordinance hits. In front of them on the right stood the Guren. Although no serious damage was visible, the custom knightmare's distinctive crimson paint was heavily damaged, burned away from the heat of explosions.

Almost all eyes in that section of the warehouse were locked on the black Gloucester to the Guren's left. It too had considerable cosmetic damage. In addition to missing paint, the right side was clearly damaged from brutal combat. A crackling sound emanated from the right arm as electricity arced between several of the deep gashes in the frame. Held in firm grasp of the Gloucester's left arm was a damaged cockpit block.

The Black Knights that had not participated in the battle were glued to screens of all sizes, watching the engagement from the excellent vantage point of the HiTV news aircraft. They all knew who was in that cockpit. Their stares of awe and silence ended, and a tsunami of sound rushed forth as they began to cheer.

Still sitting in her seat, Cornelia could hear the sound, muffled by the metal and ceramic composite armor surrounding her. She was unexpectedly calm. The Second Princess had never once considered the possibility of being captured by an enemy force. She always believed that defeat would mean certain death on the battlefield. The fact that she was still alive after being decisively beaten was almost a confusing concept to her. Cornelia was well aware of how much the Elevens hated her. Fear began to break its way in as her brain concluded that her fate most likely involved degrading, humiliating, and unimaginably painful torture.

* * *

Two silver cars pulled up in front of the Ashford Academy's main gate. Four people dressed in Ashford uniforms exited each vehicle. One team of four moved toward the entrance itself, and the other started walking west next to the wall.

One minute later the exterior team spotted a slim man with blonde hair in a similar uniform walking toward a deserted bus stop.

"This is Amethyst 2-1, confirming target has been spotted." One of the four students said to his collar. He received a confirmation in his earpiece seconds later, and motioned for everyone to move forward.

They crossed the street and approached the bus stop. A quick look around confirmed that the area was indeed clear of everyone but the target.

"Amethyst 2-1 proceeding as planned." The leader said lowly into his hidden mic.

The four students entered the semi enclosed bus stop and moved to surround the blonde haired man who was sitting on the bench.

"Alan Spacer?" The lead student asked.

"Yes?" The man with blonde hair replied, not bothering to take his hands from his pockets. He didn't move as all four of the students around him drew silenced pistols. The single female member of the team sat down next to him and placed her weapon's cold barrel against his right temple.

"OSI, hands on your head. Don't even think about resisting." The leader ordered coldly.

Their target's eyes began to emit a faint red glow. "OSI? I've been expecting you." Alan Spacer replied in a monotone voice. The leader froze as he finally recognized the man as one of the deep cover agents sent to recon the Academy. Inside his left pocket, Spacer clamped down on the pressure switch in his hand. The device clicked, and an electrical current flowed up the wires concealed under his clothes, and into the specially designed vest he was wearing under his coat.

The vest contained a 360 degree layer of high grade plastic explosive. Adhered to the layer of creamy white explosives were over one thousand nails, and small metal ball bearings. The current entered the explosive compound, triggering the device. In an unimaginably small fraction of a second, the powerful suicide vest detonated, reducing all five of the bus stop's occupants to semi cooked ground meat and blood spatter.

* * *

At the very same that Amethyst team was approaching their target, Sapphire team successfully picked the lock on the front of the Academy's club house. The second team of four undercover OSI agents removed their shoes to minimize noise from the wood floor as they entered the building. They trained their silenced pistols on the doors and staircases as they advanced across the room, looking for the source of the light piano music they could hear in the dark room.

Sayoko had already completed Lelouch's orders. Nunnally had been moved to a secret, untraceable safe house in Hokkaido two days ago. The maid watched from the darkness as the intruders approached the first set of stairs. She had set up a stand in the upper right corner on the same wall as the main door. With the building's power cut, the only light was that which shone through the ballroom's glass windows.

The OSI team found the phone that was playing the music on a table next to the stair case. Sayoko pressed a button on her own phone, and the other phone's camera flash activated, severely disrupting the false students' vision. As they struggled to regain their sight, the assassin quickly nocked an arrow to her high powered compound bow. With a barely audible twang, a black, razor tipped broadhead arrow crossed the distance with deadly accuracy. The extremely sharp tip penetrated the back of one man's neck, effortlessly severing his spine before exiting the front of his throat and pinning his corpse to the wooden table in front of them.

With their vision impaired from the blinding flash, none of the other Sapphire team members could see into the shadows. They tried to scatter for cover, but without knowing where the attack was coming from, they stood little chance.

Barely three seconds after the first man had fallen, another black shaft flew across the darkened room. It connected with an OSI woman's head, penetrating her hair, skull, and brain as if it were jello. The arrow dug deeply into the wood of the wall, its composite materials strong enough to prevent the dead woman's body from falling to the floor.

Sayoko correctly calculated that the remaining members' sight would be returning. She put the bow down and jumped from her shadowy perch, her expert hands raining deadly kunai upon the survivors. Three kunai hit one man who struggled to see her against the darkness. They penetrated his throat, right eye, and forehead, quickly reducing the number of living targets to one.

The last OSI agent began firing her silenced pistol. Unfortunately for the last girl standing, she was not fast enough to match the ninja's agility. Before she could get a fourth shot off, Sayoko was upon her. Striking as if she was made of pure lightning, Sayoko sliced through the tendons on both of her target's wrists, preventing resistance. Her blades quickly sliced the target's throat before penetrating the base of her skull from behind.

Sayoko quickly recovered and wiped down her projectiles and knives before placing the stealthy weapons back in their suitcase. After collecting everything, she walked out the front door into the cool night air as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

* * *

Cornelia was jolted out of her thoughts as the Gloucester half dropped her cockpit down to the floor.

"I know your cockpit's secondary systems are still functional. Open the door and come out, or I'll cut it open." Ordered a voice loud enough to be clearly heard inside the sealed cockpit. Cornelia hesitated for a second before reaching for the button to disengage the cockpit door's locking mechanisms. Assuming that the same Gloucester that she had fought was there, there was no point in being stubborn. One of those MVS swords would slice through her cockpit block as if it were warm ice cream.

The door's locks disengaged as she pressed the button, and the armored plate behind her fell back. She slowly extended her seat out from inside its armored shell. Surely enough, the same customized Gloucester from earlier was standing right there, still carrying both of its swords. She looked around in an attempt to figure out where she had been taken.

Men and women in Black Knights uniforms were moving around everywhere she looked. She saw them repairing knightmares, reloading weapons, and moving supplies around. She looked left and saw two rows of black knightmares, a mixture of Sutherlands and Burais. At the end stood the Guren, facing her. A maintenance team was replacing the unit's energy filler and repairing the crimson paint job. The sound of an opening cockpit drew her attention back to the right.

Riding down the line with one foot in the loop at the bottom was the knightmare's pilot. She stood in direct contrast to the five Black Knights in standard uniforms that were also approaching. Her white and red uniform, adorned with the Black Knights' emblem, appeared to indicate that she held authority. The replica Zero mask in matching white and red all but confirmed to Cornelia that the Gloucester's pilot was some kind of elite.

"Follow me." The pilot's altered voice commanded her. Cornelia stepped down from her seat and walked toward the pilot. The five assault rifle wielding Black Knights infantrymen formed a surround on her as they walked, two on each side and one directly behind.

The seven of them turned a corner around a row of four Sutherlands to find a large mobile home parked in the back of the gigantic warehouse. Cornelia saw another woman in an identical white and red uniform approaching the same door from a different angle. She got there first, holding the door as they climbed up the two steps into the vehicle. The five strong infantry escort remained outside as the door closed.

Cornelia stepped into the main room of the mobile home and nearly froze. Far from being some kind of torture chamber, she had been led into a room that had the appearance of a VIP lounge. Amazingly, the room was not full of masked men prepared to update her definition of agony, but rather a number of familiar faces. Her eyes immediately identified Jeremiah Gottwald, Viletta Nu, Kyoshiro Todou, and unbelievably, Diethard Ried. Footsteps coming down the stairs to her left alerted her to the presence of another occupant.

Zero walked down to the table in the center of the U shaped couch and turned to Diethard.

"Is your camera equipment ready?" The cold voice asked the reporter. As he went about explaining what still needed to be done, Cornelia began to feel slightly sick as her expectation of torture was replaced with the prospect of a televised execution. She snapped out of it just in time to hear that the cameras and broadcasting equipment was ready to go. There was a knock on the door, and it opened a second later. A soldier came inside.

"Excuse me sir, but the Four Holy Swords have just arrived. They wish to see Todou." The infantryman informed.

"I will go brief them on the current situation." Kyoshiro said as he got up to follow the soldier.

"Jeremiah, take our guest upstairs. I would prefer if she did not see this interview live."

"Understood." Jeremiah and Viletta, still in their full combat gear, moved to escort Cornelia to the room.

* * *

Jeremiah shut the door behind them as they entered the bedroom. As the three of them went to sit down at the small round table , there was movement on the bed. Cornelia turned to look, her guards appearing to already know who was there. From under the blanket emerged a puff of green and white.

CC sat up and yawned, still wearing her straight jacket, and turned to see who it was.

"How nice of you to come wake me up again Cornelia. I don't suppose you're going to wave a gun in my face this time." CC said to the speechless princess who was in the middle of remembering the first time they met eight years ago.

"You two know each other?" Viletta asked as their gazes fought for supremacy.

"Eight years ago I caught this woman sleeping half naked on Empress Marianne's bed." Cornelia tried to explain.

"And then she told you to forget that you had ever seen me." CC finished for her. Cornelia turned back to Jeremiah.

"Who is she?" Cornelia asked, convinced that CC would not be any more willing to answer the same question eight years later.

"Actually, that's a good question. You've always been here, and even I don't know what you really do, CC. I never could figure out why Zero always keeps you so close." The armored commando inquired. Both Jeremiah and Viletta were in fact well aware of what CC really was, but Cornelia didn't know that.

"You mean my beauty isn't enough?"

"Should I call you his lover then?" Jeremiah asked her

"Kallen's the only one that really loves him. But she's not enough to keep me out of his bed, or his pants for that matter." CC said with a smile as she watched their minds swirl.

* * *

The crew of the Avalon kept the news playing on their main screen as they flew from the Shikinejima naval airbase to Tokyo. On the airship's bridge, Suzaku, Schneizel, and everyone else had watched in a state of near shock as Cornelia's defense was systematically ripped apart by the Black Knights' assault and sniper support. Less than five minutes after they had witnessed Cornelia's capture, Suzaku had requested a rescue mission. Schneizel was quick to agree, and they were working out an initial plan when the looping footage with commentary on the news channel suddenly changed.

"We have even more breaking news for you tonight. It has just been confirmed that our own Diethard Ried has managed to obtain an exclusive interview with the leadership of the Black Knights. We will be bringing that to you live momentarily. Due to the Black Knights' precautionary measures, there will be a seven second delay as the stream runs through an anti trace program." The HiTV desk anchor announced over their broadcast.

Upon hearing the announcement, everyone on the Avalon tuned in. The screen blacked out for a second, before switching to a view of a room with a table surrounded by a U shaped couch. At the center of the U sat two women in matching white and red uniforms, matching Zero style masks guarding their identities. To their right was Zero himself. To their left sat Diethard, microphone in hand. The view then switched solely to Zero.

"To all the people of the world, good evening. I am Zero, founder and leader of the Order of Black Knights. As I am sure you are all well aware, less than three hours ago the Black Knights assaulted the Britannian maximum security military prison in Chiba. Our objective was to prevent the execution of Kyoshiro Todou, a hero of the Japanese people. Our efforts proved to be very successful.

However, instead of the light resistance we had anticipated, our units were personally engaged in direct combat with Second Princess Cornelia. Where lesser forces would have been annihilated by the combination of her excellent leadership and exceptional skill in battle, the Black Knights were up to the challenge. Our own elite warriors proved more than a match for Cornelia and her knight. After an intense two against two battle, Cornelia had been decisively defeated and ultimately captured.

This victory was not the result of my planning or preparations; it was the result of our strength, skill, and unyielding determination. Tonight you will meet the champions of our revolution, the two Black Knights strong enough to bring down the Goddess of Victory." Zero spoke to the camera. As instructed, the view then shifted to Diethard and the two Black Knights sitting in the middle. Diethard brought up his mic.

"This is Diethard Ried coming to you live from what appears to be the Black Knights' primary base in an unknown location. The Black Knights have taken every precaution to ensure that this installation remains hidden. To be here for this exclusive broadcast, I volunteered to be blindfolded, searched, and was forced to listen to loud music for several hours under armed guard as I was driven here." He turned from the camera to face the interview's subjects.

"I have been repeatedly informed that the two of you hold extremely high ranks within the Black Knights. Seeing you personally escort Princess Cornelia from the remains of her knightmare certainly confirmed this. What exactly is your role within the Order?" Diethard began.

"We are the Zero Squad, the most elite pilots of the Black Knights. We technically operate outside of the regular chain of command, taking our orders only from Zero. Although in reality we usually fight with or in support of other units. Almost everyone holding command positions today are long time veterans, many from the old days when we were just the local Shinjuku resistance. We are not just soldiers fighting for a flag, we are a family fighting for each other. Real orders are a rare formality once the battle has started." The masked woman on the right explained.

"So instead of being given a strict set of orders by a superior officer, you are free to move around the battlefield to fight where your allies need your support?" Diethard asked.

"Within limits. We usually receive a guideline or an objective that needs to be completed. It's typically up to us to determine how it gets done. The most common exception is when enemy ace pilots such as Cornelia or Kururugi take the field. At that point, Zero typically gives a very specific set of instructions for how we should act. When Zero's brilliance is combined with our combat power, the results speak for themselves." The woman on the left replied with her mask's altered voice.

"Judging from what we saw only hours ago, you are indeed a pair of knightmare aces with very few equals. I, and most certainly the entire world as well, am curious to know the real people behind the masks and distorted voices. While it is certain that Zero himself is definitely not going to be removing his mask on camera any time soon, what about you? Is hiding your identity a requirement for your elite positions?" Ried inquired.

"Actually, it's not. In truth, we almost never wear these masks. It was a critical part of Zero's plan for my identity to remain hidden from Cornelia until she was taken up into that soundproofed room upstairs." The woman on the left revealed, noticably increasing Diethard's excitement. This was it, a moment that would be forever remembered in Britannian history. Britannia's angel had fallen weeks ago, her white wings stained red with blood. And this was the moment of her public resurrection, the culmination of her transformation from gentle princess to deadly revolutionary warrior.

Euphemia took a deep breath as her gloved fingers found the lock on the back of her mask. The click of the unlocking was audible in the almost deathly silent room. A second click signaled that Kallen was doing the same. The scales along the back folded up as the lock disengaged, releasing her shoulder length pink hair. She placed her palm over the front of the faceplate, and removed the mask in the same way she had seen Zero do it countless times. As she placed the mask down on the table in front of her, Diethard's heart nearly stopped. It was a face that he had last seen over two months ago, and never expected to see again.

Sitting only six feet away was Euphemia li Britannia, the not so dead Third Princess.

* * *

Dozens of miles away onboard the Avalon, Suzaku collapsed to his knees and began breathing heavily as he tried to fight back the sudden and powerful feeling of sickness that engulfed him as it was revealed to the world that the elite enemy pilots that had defeated Princess Cornelia were people he had considered to be some of his best friends.

Close by, Schneizel was visibly surprised to find out that his sister was not only alive, but openly admitting that she was the first person of royal blood to switch sides against the Empire in living memory. Instead of being paralyzed by the shock and awe effect, his powerful mind was already at work going over what he knew . She had become an extremely capable knightmare pilot, and was not afraid to send live rounds along with her words.

He was much more concerned with the political situation that she would cause. Euphemia had a lot of supporters, especially in the lower classes of society. Not only was she kind, charming, and unbelievably beautiful, her world view was radically different than most of the royal family's. Although she never got up in front of crowds millions strong to give speeches about politics, it was widely known that she was a believer in a simple form of equality. To sum it up in her own words, "Even though we are not all born equal, we are all created equal." The message was a simple one: Real equality is not an issue of race, gender, or social class, but a universal right shared by all of humanity.

Britannian policies were in actuality, very unequal by design. Under the law, only people of Britannian ancestry were given the rights and benefits of full citizenship. The native populations of conquered Areas were routinely denied even the most basic rights held by Britannian citizens. Their cultures and languages were actively suppressed, and they were in effect treated as sub humans.

Although it was well known that Zero held similar ideas to Euphemia, he previously had no effective way to spread them through the Britannian populations. Princess Euphemia, however, was a household name, and an instantly recognizable face. She also had the advantage of being widely loved by the populace. Poll after poll consistently showed that the Britannian people had more good things to say about Euphemia than the next five names on the list combined.

There was not a doubt in Schneizel's mind that Zero was trying exploit her public image to maximum effect. With Euphemia, Zero had a way to get his revolutionary message across to the Britannian people, and that was one hell of a scary prospect for the Prime Minister.

* * *

Euphemia and Kallen had been telling the world a slightly altered version of their true story for nearly ten minutes. Diethard was feeling absolutely electric. This was what he had always wanted, the real story of a lifetime. He barely noticed Zero get up and begin ascending the stairs.

He entered the nine digit code on the door's lock and clicked it. The door slid open and the masked leader stepped inside. He took a look around his bedroom as the door closed itself behind him.

CC was sprawled out over his entire bed, sleeping with a smile on her face. Cornelia, Jeremiah, and Viletta occupied three of the five chairs surrounding the wooden round table.

The Second Princess looked uncharacteristically detached from the world around her. Zero estimated that being defeated, captured, and locked in a room under the guard of people that had betrayed her, all in the space of four hours, had caused more psychological trauma than he expected.

"What happened to the fire, aggression, and the white hot rage? I did not expect you to be so...depressed." Zero asked as he approached the table.

"When your people pulled me from my Gloucester, I was expecting all manner horrible tortures followed by an execution. What did I get? Locked in a bedroom with two traitors and a terribly annoying enigma. I'm disappointed." Cornelia replied as she slowly looked up to face him.

"Now why would you be expecting anything like that?" Zero wondered as he sat down.

"You mean why wouldn't I? You shot my brother in the head, and had these people murder my sister. Although now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if you were waiting to shoot me yourself. No man in history has ever managed assassinate two members of the royal family with his own hands."

"I have no interest in being remembered as an assassin. I don't want to torture and kill you, I just want to talk, like civilized people." Zero told her.

"A murderous Eleven terrorist wanting to be civil?" Cornelia laughed.

Zero got up and walked over to a bag leaning against the bed. He pulled four thick folders from it before returning to the table. He drew four photos from the top folder and displayed them to Cornelia. A dead mother and infant, an elderly Japanese couple shredded by fragmentation grenades, and the bullet ridden bodies of two brothers that tried to shield their sister from a firing squad. The fourth picture summed up the story. A shot of a fully geared Britannian soldier executing a Japanese girl no older than ten, with bodies on the floor and bullet holes in the wall around her.

"Clovis earned the bullet I put in his head when he ordered thousands of innocents to be murdered as he tried to cover up his dirty secrets."

"Dirty secrets? You mean that Orange thing you mentioned after confessing to my brother's murder on live TV?" Cornelia asked, unshaken by the images of death in front of her.

"You really don't know what happened in Shinjuku, do you?" Zero asked, mildly surprised.

"Some terrorists stole a capsule of poison gas and you showed up to rescue them." She replied.

"The Shinjuku resistance, which would later become the core of my Black Knights, only thought they stole poison gas. In reality it was a critical component of Clovis's Orange Project."

"It might help if I knew what Orange was, Zero."

"To put it simply, Clovis was conducting immortality research. He was so paranoid about keeping it a secret, he had his test subject's holding cell designated as a container of high potency poison gas. The resistance ended up stealing her, thinking it was a chemical bomb." Zero explained.

"Her?" Cornelia wondered aloud. Zero looked past her right shoulder over to CC on the bed, hugging her cheese kun. Cornelia slowly turned around.

"CC was the test subject. I will probably never know how many unspeakable things they did to her in Clovis's secret labs."

"You mean my brother was using that witch over there in some kind of immortality experiment?" Cornelia inquired.

"Not you too." CC moaned at being called a witch by yet another person.

"More precisely, he was attempting to find out why she cannot die. Most likely in an effort to reproduce the effect for his own benefit."

"Do you really expect me to believe that she's immortal? Cornelia asked, obviously not convinced that she was. Zero looked over to Jeremiah, who shared his masked leader's thought. Gottwald pulled a pistol and aimed it toward CC.

"I swear, if you tell him to shoot me I better receive some very substantial compensation."

"Certainly." Zero said just before Jeremiah squeezed the trigger. The bullet impacted between her eyes, passing through her brain and exiting the back of her head. Cornelia looked at the two of them, shocked that she really just got shot in the head.

"Well, I better go call Pizza Hut." Viletta announced in a tired voice as she got up to leave the room.

"Go see for yourself." Zero told Cornelia. She got up and slowly went over to the corpse on the bed. The princess put her fingers to CC's neck, feeling for a pulse. There was none. No breathing, no pulse, no movement.

"She's dead." Cornelia reported as expected.

"And in five minutes she will yelling at me for having her shot, then probably demand that I take my clothes off."

"Why would she..." Cornelia began before she remembered what CC said earlier.

"There are only two things that can satisfy that woman. Pizza and sex. She's going to want plenty of both after that. To get back on topic, Clovis was doing his experiments without the Emperor's knowledge. He effectively embezzled hundreds of millions of pounds of government money for his little science project. All he actually accomplished in doing so was the torture of an innocent woman."

"I assume that's what you meant when you threatened to reveal it during that fiasco on the bridge."

"Correct. Clovis will be remembered as an excellent artist, not the corrupt monster he really was." Zero told her.

"And what about my sister? Are you going to try to tell me she was some kind of monster too?" Cornelia asked, her level of anger increasing as her control began to slip.

"Not at all. If Euphemia was sitting on the throne in Pendragon, there would be no need for war. She would have been happy to draw up plans for a better world in ink rather than blood. If only she were still here." Zero watched as something snapped in Cornelia. The comparatively calm, if slightly depressed princess blinked as tears began to form around her eyes.

"Stop. Please just stop it." Cornelia sobbed out as she tried to maintain some semblance of self control.

"Oh? Did my words strike a nerve?"

"Stop bringing back those memories!" She lashed out.

"What memories?" Zero asked. The man under the mask was having trouble holding back his laughter. Cornelia was not strapped in tight enough for this emotional roller coaster ride. Being defeated, captured, then locked in a dull room before the shock of watching Zero order the execution of what appeared to be his mistress without a care in the world. The constant shifting had fractured the dam holding back her pent up emotions. She could not plug the leaks fast enough, and it was breaking her from the inside.

"Do you know why I came here, Zero? I came here to seek vengeance for all the pain that these cursed islands have caused me. Ever since my father had the oh so wonderful idea of invading this place, it has done nothing but tear away the people I love. I tried so hard, but you were always there to stop me." The walls were breaking. The combined weight of the knowledge that she had failed to deliver justice for her brothers and sisters, along with the fact that life as she knew it was effectively over, proved to be too much.

"It was never my intention to cause such personal damage to you. My enemy is the Holy Britannian Empire, and by extension, the Emperor." Zero began to explain. Cornelia looked through her tears to where Zero's eyes would be. "You seem to be forgetting that the Emperor that ordered the invasion and enslavement of Japan is the same Emperor that sent them here." Zero pulled the third folder from the stack and slid it across to the princess. "Have you ever heard of Imperial Order 2163?"

"No." She began as she opened the folder.

"I went to some very extreme lengths to acquire the full, uncensored, original copy of 2163 from the secure OSI archives in Pendragon. Knowing how you feel about your brothers and sisters, the contents of that folder are going to turn your black and white world a very murky shade of gray." Zero informed her.

Cornelia opened the folder and began to read. It was an issue of extraordinary powers, dated in 2010, and signed by the Emperor himself. Order 2163 was directed to the OSI's Special Activities Division, their elite covert military force. Under Britannian law, the assassination of Britannian citizens was strictly prohibited, legal only with the written approval of the Emperor or Prime Minister. This document was not just an issue of permission, but the Emperor's direct order for the assassination of two Britannian citizens. Cornelia read lower down the page. She had been unaware that the Emperor had ever given such orders. She turned the page and froze. The second page contained information about the targets. Staring back at her were pictures of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia. The order directed that the SAD was to spare no expense in having them eliminated. The third page contained lists of their known associates and residences in Japan.

Zero watched in motionless silence as her tears began to fall with renewed intensity, running down the papers. It was clear to him that the documents were having their intended effect.

"How...could he? How could he order the deaths of his own children and then lie to us about it for all these years?"

"You're talking about a man that routinely orders the brutal conquest and enslavement of entire nations. Out of the tens of millions of innocent lives Britannia has ended on his behalf, why would two more mean anything to him?" Zero reasoned.

"They weren't your family!" Cornelia shot back.

"As I recall, Lelouch and Nunnally spent just over twenty two weeks here in Japan. You wouldn't imagine how many powerful friends they could make in such a short time." Zero replied, hinting that he knew much more than she had thought.

"Are you implying that you knew them?"

"Indeed I did." Zero replied.

"What happened to my brother after he was sent here?" Cornelia asked, realizing that there was unlikely to be another chance to find any information about them.

"Lelouch was sent to the Kururugi family, as I'm sure you know." Zero told her. Cornelia nodded. That was basically the full extent of what she knew about their exile. "Being at the top of the Japanese political pyramid put him in frequent contact with the nation's elite. The Kururugi family, Kyoshiro Todou and other senior military figures, even the leaders of the future Kyoto Group. Lelouch wasted no time befriending them all. When the first round of airstrikes came in just ahead of the invasion fleets, Lelouch was standing on a hill with Suzaku, a few hundred meters from the house he was staying in. It was no accident that the building was hit with enough ordinance to level a city block." Zero studied the princess's face as she listened. "A week later, Japan surrendered. He was once again with Suzaku upon that evening. As the sun was setting, Lelouch looked out over the darkening eastern sea. He swore an oath to all that would listen, demanding the destruction of the Holy Britannian Empire, and justice for those that the Empire had destroyed. I intend to carry out that oath to the very best of my ability." Cornelia was lost for words. The extreme suddenness of all these shocks and revelations left her jumbled, unable to form a truly coherent response. The plan was working perfectly.

"You never did find their bodies. Lelouch and Nunnally were given funerals in Pendragon with empty caskets." His words catapulted distant memories of that sad day to the front of Cornelia's mind.

"Would you like me to show you where they are?" Zero offered. It took several seconds for his words to fight their way through the swirling chaos of Cornelia's thoughts.

"You know where my brother and sister are buried?" She asked with desperation.

"I did the burying. I'll take you to see them on one condition. Renounce your loyalty to the Emperor." Zero said. Although it was not technically worded as an order, the statement had all the effect of one.

Jeremiah, who had been sitting off to the side and nearly forgotten by Cornelia, handed Zero his phone. A few touches on the screen later and he had a camera ready to record yet another historic event. Zero turned it on, a tiny red light indicated to the shattered princess that it was recording.

"I, Cornelia li Britannia, Second Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, renounce my position, and any loyalty I once held for my father, Charles zi Britannia, 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire." Zero was impressed at the fact that she could still call forth a commanding voice. He clicked the button on top again, cutting the recording.

"There, Zero. I just committed treason on video for you. Now take me to them!" Cornelia commanded, her voice laced with desperation. Zero ignored her, hitting another button on his phone. The interview was scheduled to end three minutes ago.

"_Euphie, would you please come upstairs? With your mask on." _Zero requested using the fact that Cornelia had little exposure to or understanding of the Japanese language to his advantage.

"When are we going?" Cornelia asked, her patience running dangerously low.

"Going, Cornelia? We're already here." Zero informed her. Before she could say anything, he reached behind his helmet. With a click, the lock disengaged, and the scales retracted. Just as Euphemia had done for the camera, he pulled the mask from his head, slow enough for added dramatic effect. He placed the iconic headpiece on the table, front facing forward. He sat silently, waiting for her to deliver the final blow herself. Six seconds passed. On the seventh, her eyes went wide, and she inhaled sharply.

Lelouch leaned back slightly, producing a black king piece from a pocket on his outfit. Twirling it around between the fingers of his right hand, his eyes silently said "your move." The door opened behind him.

"Lelouch..." Her soft words indicated that she still recognized him.

"What a lovely family reunion you're having there." The freshly revived and still bloody CC commented as she walked past Lelouch to the door. "Three royals and a palace guard. I feel left out."

"Three royals?" Cornelia asked, her eyes turning to the masked pilot now sitting at the table.

"Wondering how many more surprises I have under my cape, Cornelia?" Lelouch motioned to the new arrival. "This is Q2, the Gloucester pilot that you fought earlier tonight. Quite a talented warrior, isn't she?"

"Nunnally?" Cornelia asked, wondering if the woman in front of her could possibly his sister. She took the mask off for the second time. Even with the shortened hair, she was still the same beautiful Euphemia.

"Euphie." she corrected her sister. As Euphemia moved to comfort her broken wreck of a sister, she turned to Lelouch. "_Please. You've already traumatized her enough tonight." _

"_You're right, Euphie. Our sister's going to need an angel to fix all the psychological damage I just inflicted upon her. At least she actually has one." _Lelouch replied with a smile before moving for the door.

* * *

On TV screens around the world, the expert analysis of the night's world changing events was interrupted by a new addition. Prime Minister Schneizel appeared live on the broadcast. Standing at his right side was the Knight of Two and Knight of Ten. On his left side stood Suzaku Kururugi, renewed fire in his gaze.

"Tonight we have witnessed two terrible events. The terrorist Zero has captured one princess and corrupted another, in addition to claiming responsibility for the murder of prince Clovis. This man's terrible crimes against the Empire will not go unpunished.

By the established order of succession, Suzaku Kururugi would have become Area 11's new Viceroy as the result of tonight's events. However, after careful consideration, I have determined that appointing a man unskilled in the intricacies of politics to the position is not in the best interest of the Empire. Under the authority bestowed upon me as prime minister by our Emperor, I name Secilia Vasburg, the honorable Knight of Two, as the new Viceroy of Area 11." Schneizel stepped aside, allowing Secilia to take the podium.

"The time for games is over, Zero. Let's see how well you can play chess when I cut off your hands."


	13. Welcome to Area 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

AN: Cornelia defeated the MEF in western Arabia to create Area 18. Area 18 includes the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula and some territory to the immediate north including parts of Jordan and southern Israel. The MEF still controls the rest of Arabia, along with most of what is today Iraq and western Iran. The territory surrounding them is split between Britannia in north Africa, China to the east, and the EU in the north.

Britannia is currently at war with the EU and MEF, who are allies. Relations with China are less than friendly, but not to the point of hostility, yet.

The Glaston Knights are finally here. Instead of being just another five individual badass knightmare pilots, their greatest strength is in their teamwork as an elite unit.

As always, review and point out any mistakes I missed. All the positive and constructive reviews are the fuel that keeps this story moving.

* * *

After Cornelia finished cleaning up the Middle Eastern Federation's forces in western Arabia and officially drawing the borders of Area 18, other elite units were tasked with continuing the war against the MEF. Chief among these were the five strong Glaston Knights, who had a powerful reputation of being the most successful front line knightmare assault unit in the Britannian military.

Critical to the campaign in the Middle East was control over the MEF's vast oil reserves. While Britannia did not require the black liquid for her energy needs, the EU and China still relied upon oil as a fuel source to power their factories and war machines. Their long running relationships with the MEF ensured that they had historically had a steady supply of oil, stifling the growth of alternative energy sources. By taking control of the oil fields, Britannia would both weaken the EU's capacity to wage war , and gain powerful leverage to check China's imperial ambitions.

Cornelia declared the existence of Area 18 after she conquered the regions closest to Britannia's starting points in eastern Egypt. The actual borders of Area 18 encompassed the entirety of the MEF's territory. The main thrust of the Britannian invasion moved east after Cornelia's departure for Area 11, bringing the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula under control. They then began pushing north along the east coast with its rich oil reserves and large cities. Resistance increased as they approached the larger oil fields.

Advance Britannian scout units ahead of the main force ran into unexpectedly high resistance near a small town south of their objective. Either unable or unwilling to translate the location's name, they simply referred to it as Point 13, as indicated on their maps of the region.

The town at Point 13 was located along the only modern road north, flanked on either side by endless desert or ocean. As such, the town was turned into a fortress by one of the most diverse group of defenders the advancing Britannians had ever seen. MEF armored units equipped with Russian designed tanks, and their Camel units(Britannian commanders had been recently informed by intelligence that the MEF had designated them Bamides, but by this point most Britannians did not actually care enough to stop calling them Camels) formed the backbone of the defense. The wide open desert between the town and the advancing Britannian army was perfect tank terrain. Supporting their tanks were scores of irregular resistance fighters armed with anything they could find, mostly outdated small arms and early model RPG launchers. They would ride into the coming battle on their Technical vehicles. A Technical, according to the Britannian military, was any civilian vehicle refitted as a makeshift weapon. These mostly included pickup trucks and vans with a large assortment of heavy machineguns, rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, or aging anti aircraft weapons.

The real threat was formed by the 24 Panzer Hummels provided by their German allies. The Panzer Hummel was the EU's answer to the Britannian Glasgow. The German knightmare frames were adopted by the whole of the EU shortly after entering service with the German military, and later by their allies in the Middle Eastern Federation. Sacrificing agility and close combat capabilities for raw armor and firepower, the Panzers had a battle proven reputation for being tough and lethal outside of melee range. Instead of arms with hands, Panzer Hummels were equipped with two 88mm cannons, derivatives of war winning 88mm cannon systems in service with the German military for nearly a century. Other armaments included twin hip mounted light autocannons, chest mounted 76mm rocket launchers, and twin slash harkens. While not up to tank strength, their armor package was noticeably stronger than Sutherlands or Glasgows, at the expense of added weight. Piloted by a mix of MEF pilots and their German military advisers, they would be the deciding factor once the fight moved from open desert to narrow streets.

Ten kilometers south of Point 13, Britannian forces were going through final preparations for their attack. Rows of Panther tanks and Badger APCs in their tracked configuration were going through last minute refueling and rearming. The opening assault would be led by the blue heavy armor, not a wave of knightmare frames as they would be no match for massed enemy tanks on open terrain. The Sutherlands were being held back as a reserve force that would be deployed once the armor pushed the defending MEF forces back into the town.

Standing in contrast to the rows of blue vehicles around them were five purple Gloucester frames. Huddled around a map under the bright desert sun were the Glaston Knights, the only knightmare unit to take part in the initial attack.

"Here's our plan of attack." David began informing his fellow knights as he began to draw on the map with a red marker. "We are located nine kilometers south of the enemy's forward line of defense, which is primarily made up of heavy tanks and Bamides. Our own armor is going to close the distance and engage directly. We've been ordered to flank around to the west and eliminate the mobile SAM launchers they have covering the area."

"What kind of support can we expect?" Alfred inquired.

"The assault carrier HMS Prydwen and her escorts are on station in the Gulf of Oman. We can designate targets for her railguns and missiles now, and call in naval airstrikes after the SAMs are down." David told them.

"What are we going to be up against?" Bart asked the well informed David.

"Intelligence says that the MEF has everything from pickup trucks to Panzer Hummels in the area. Expect heavy tanks and Panzers just to be safe." David informed them. Seconds later, he received new orders through his earpiece. "Ready your Gloucesters, we move out in ten."

* * *

The defense of Point 13 was arranged in a layered format similar to the techniques employed by the EU. The first line of defense consisted of massed armor, some dug into earthwork tank bunkers. The second line was a series of defenses along the edge of the town. The third layer was the infantry fortifications in the streets themselves.

The advancing Britannians could not have cared less about defenders with rifles and sandbags, the knightmares would overwhelm them in seconds. They did, however, dislike the notion of charging directly into a well prepared defensive position.

The attack's opening began with fourteen heavy MLRS rocket artillery vehicles, which had been given the coordinates of points along the MEF's front line. Hundreds of rockets left puffy white streaks against the clear blue sky as they unloaded on the enemy positions. On que, 114 Panther tanks began their advance to initiate a direct frontal assault. Behind the tanks, the APCs and lighter vehicles advanced as well.

The Britannian armored forces were still just out of range when the torrent of high explosive rockets began landing on the enemy positions. The effect was stronger than anticipated due to the artillery crews' practiced accuracy. Hundreds of small flashes danced across the positions in front of them, occasionally accompanied by larger secondary explosions as vehicles in the target area exploded. There was a noticeably larger explosion as one of the MEF Bamides received nine direct rocket strikes, one of which ignited the vehicle's considerable ammunition stores.

The artillery strikes were damaging and disorienting, but not enough to break the enemy position by themselves. The defending forces opened fire as the wave of blue tanks entered the effective range of their tanks' cannons. Britannian tanks began to spread out as incoming HEAT and kinetic AP rounds landed in the sand around them. Their 130mm main cannons returned fire on the MEF's tanks and soon both sides were taking losses.

* * *

To the west of the main battlefield, the Glaston Knights were carrying out their primary mission. Their Gloucester frames performed a wide left hook maneuver out into the empty desert before heading east toward the enemy's exposed flank. The massive number of explosions off in the distance indicated that the enemy was almost completely focused on defending against the frontal assault.

Soon they could see their main objective, the MEF's mobile SAM launchers, which were protected not by tanks and knightmares, but mere camo netting and infantry. Closing on the targets at high speed, they opened fire with their assault rifles on the lightly armed defenders around the missile launchers. The MEF infantry fired back with their shoulder launched RPGs, and several mounted wire guided anti armor missiles.

At the front and directly in the enemy's line of fire, Bart reacted swiftly to the incoming threats. The RPGs' unguided rockets could be easily dodged by his agile Gloucester, but the wire guided missiles were another story. Directed by well trained and experienced crews, they were nearly impossible to dodge. Being the expert pilot that he was, Bart opted to fire his slash harkens, simultaneously hitting and destroying two of the incoming missiles. Another harken tether came sailing past him from the right, destroying a third missile. He looked over to see that Claudio had the same idea.

As the infantry desperately tried to reload their launchers, the purple knightmares got too close. Slash harkens shot forward from the attacking Gloucesters, destroying the reloading mounted launchers and killing several of their crew members. Alfred went to work destroying the first launcher vehicle with his large golden lance as the four others moved to clear the defenders around the second. The powerful weapon easily ripped through the launcher's thin armor, rendering it worthless.

The fortifications around the second SAM launcher approximately 200 meters to the north were similar to the first. As the Glaston Knights destroyed the second vehicle, they turned toward the last two, which were together in a position much closer to the town. Without warning, cannon shells began to rain down around them, kicking up plumes of sand as they detonated. The Gloucesters' factsphere sensors indicated that eight Panzer Hummels and a reserve Bamide unit were moving to defend the remaining launchers. The Bamide fired its 255mm ultra heavy cannon toward the Britannian knightmares. Edgar and Alfred were fast enough to evade the incoming cannon shell, but the explosion still peppered their frames with small, hot fragmentation.

"You said we have fire support available, David. Now would be a nice time to use it!" Alfred called out over the radio as the Panzers' 88mm cannons kicked up plumes of burned sand, smoke, and hot metal dangerously close to his rapidly moving Gloucester.

"This is Major Darlton to HMS Prydwen, we are being engaged by superior armored forces in the open! Requesting immediate naval artillery strike on the following coordinates!" David radioed in as he used his frame's laser rangefinder to gather and send precise coordinates to the far away assault carrier's gunners.

"Location confirmed, major. Firing on the target coordinates." The Prydwen's gunnery officer replied to him.

28 seconds later, the Glaston Knights were still evading and firing their rifles at the enemy forces between them and their targets.

"What's the ETA on that railgun strike?" Claudio asked as he fired another burst of 25mm rifle fire. David checked the timer on his unit's hud before replying.

"Right the hell now." Three seconds later, the world in front of them exploded as four 310mm hypersonic shells slammed into the target area with enough power to tear the Bamide apart and vaporize the smaller Panzers, SAM launchers, and a few unlucky enemy infantry. All that remained when the dust cleared were large craters and cracked glass from the heat of the impacts. The shockwave from the blasts was strong enough to be felt across the entire battlefield.

"This is Major Darlton reporting that the enemy's heavy anti aircraft weapons have been eliminated. Requesting new orders."

"Excellent work Glaston Knights. Our armor is breaking through the front lines, and our Sutherlands are moving forward in preparation for an assault on the town itself. Your unit is to move into the town from the west and engage the enemy in close combat." The Britannian general in charge of the operation ordered.

"Major Darlton, this is Admiral Whitcomb. With the enemy's anti air defenses crippled, I have ordered HMS Prydewen's strike aircraft to support the ground operations. You have targeting priority."

"Understood sir, Glaston Knights are moving to attack."

* * *

"You need to eat something."

Cornelia looked up from the table that she alone occupied. Approaching her from the now closing door was Lelouch, wearing his Zero suit minus the mask.

"I'm not hungry." Cornelia stated with conviction.

"It's been at least three days since you've eaten anything. I did not spend the time, resources, and good lives on an operation to capture you alive just to watch you starve to death." Lelouch replied as he put a plate down in front of her. Six small white triangles were neatly arranged on its surface. Cornelia was about to protest, but then she noticed Lelouch's face. The amethyst eyes staring back at her showed unmoving resolution. She looked down at her plate with a puzzled look. "Don't like Japanese food?"

"I don't even know what those things are, Lelouch." Cornelia told him as she carefully moved to pick up one of the triangles.

"Onigiri. Euphie made some this morning. I believe she filled them with tuna this time." Lelouch informed her. He reached over and plucked the closest one from the plate. "I'm surprised that Suzaku didn't attempt to make you try these." He said as he took a bite from the triangle. Cornelia did the same. After one bite she realized just how hungry she really was.

"You said that you knew Suzaku before the invasion. Did he ever try to contact you afterward?" Cornelia asked her brother.

"Kururugi can keep secrets almost as well as I can. He never once slipped up about what really happened in Shinjuku?" Lelouch asked suggestively.

"What do you mean? He tried to fight your terrorist friends off with the Lancelot."

"The only reason Earl Asplund ever found him was because he was shot in the back."

"I heard about that much, but I never bothered to ask what happened, and he never wanted to tell me." Cornelia explained.

"I was on my way back to class when a truck nearly ran me over on the highway. They swerved and crashed into a nearby construction site. When I went to help, they hit the gas and I was trapped inside, next to the poison gas container I would discover to be CC's isolation cell. Kallen took her red Glasgow out the back to fight the gunships that were chasing us, and the truck went into the subway tunnels. After we crashed again, Suzaku was the one that found me. Long story short, Clovis's royal guard ordered him to kill me, and he refused. The guard captain shot him in the back instead." Lelouch went about retelling how he managed to find his way into the Shinjuku incident.

"He knew you were alive the whole time?" Cornelia asked, looking betrayed.

"He was on the student council at Ashford Academy."

"I know. That was Euphie's idea wasn't it?"

"It was her idea for him to enroll at the Academy. I was the Vice President of the student council. I pulled a few strings to get him in. " Lelouch told her.

"He saw you practically every other day and yet he couldn't tell me that my brother and sister were alive."

" I suppose that Suzaku was just trying to find a happy medium. He was well aware that we did not want to be found. He didn't want to betray Britannia or his friends."

"But did he know that you are leading this rebellion?" Cornelia asked in an accusatory tone.

"To my knowledge, he never actually knew. But he certainly could put the pieces together if his mind would let him. He knows I have the means, motive, and willingness to follow through on my oath all those years ago, but I think he just doesn't want to believe it. Don't be mad at him Cornelia, he's one of the most loyal knights you could ever ask for." Lelouch finished explaining as Cornelia chomped her way through another of the onigiri.

"What's this green crispy stuff?" She asked, changing the topic as she bit into the third one.

"Nori." Lelouch replied factually.

"Lelouch, you know I don't understand a word of that language you all speak. What is it in English?"

"Toasted seaweed." He replied as he began eating his second onigiri. "Kallen told me it's brain food." Cornelia's eyes widened for a second, before taking another bite.

"It doesn't taste as disgusting as it sounds." Her voice then got slightly more serious. "Kallen is the pilot of that red monster knightmare with the claw, right? The one that killed Andreas at Narita, and almost killed Guilford at Chiba."

"Don't take it so personally. Enemy commanders are priority targets on a battlefield."

"To me, she's the person that killed my knight and friend." Cornelia told him . "...What is she to you?"

"Everything. Kallen is half Britannian noble and half Japanese. She is one of the very few people that actually had a real choice. She could have lived a life of privilege and excess as the beautiful Kallen Stadtfeld. Instead she chose to fight against the Empire's tyranny and oppression as Kallen Kouzuki." Lelouch told the princess.

"Not the answer I was looking for, however enlightening it is."

"Partner, friend, lover, knight. Whatever label you want to tag her with, I don't know of a single word that can encompass everything that she means to me. What she really is is the perfect embodiment of what the Black Knights are supposed to be. She judges people by their actions, by who they choose to be, not who they were born as." Lelouch tried to explain.

"You really love her, don't you?" Cornelia asked, sounding for once as a sister, not a commanding princess or battle hardened soldier.

Lelouch sat silently, his face telling all that his captive sister wanted to know.

* * *

The purple Gloucester put the throttle to the max, jumping over the twin blasts of 88mm cannon fire from the desperate Panzer pilot before him. The MEF pilot keyed his frame's hip mounted autocannons, spraying burning hot tracers forward. The rounds coming out of the barrels were 20mm incendiary rounds, not armor piercing. David laughed as the cannon shells exploded in balls of fire against the black chest of his Gloucester, causing no real damage. He thrust his golden lance forward, aiming for a kill shot against the German made knightmare.

The Panzer pilot was backed up against a building. He had no room to eject safely. Cornered and faced with impending doom, he fought on. The Hummel swung its left cannon arm to parry the incoming thrust, while trying to use its other cannon as a club.

As the lance was deflected, David immediately reacted by throwing the full weight of his unit behind the thrust. The result was a brutally effective shoulder smash to the Panzer's head, where the pilot's sensors were located. He fired his chest mounted slash harkens at point blank range into the Panzer, slicing off both cannon arms with the raw force of the magnetically propelled anchors.

The MEF pilot attempted to ram him with what was left of his disabled unit. David used his Gloucester's absolute agility advantage to evade the charge. He quickly reversed the lance and delivered a powerful thrust to the Panzer's back, penetrating the cockpit before hitting critical components deep inside the frame. The enemy knightmare exploded, showering the Gloucester with a spectacular, if ineffective, blast of fire and shrapnel.

David took a moment after his latest kill to survey the force deployment map on his right. The screen showed that the Britannian tanks were moving around the town to the flanks, while the Sutherland units were slicing through the internal defenders. The MEF had no answer to the raw effectiveness of Britannian knightmares in tight urban combat. The heavy tanks that were so formidable in the open were practically free kills in the narrow streets.

"The MEF forces in Point 13 are trapped and are being annihilated by our overwhelmingly superior army. You've all done an outstanding job here today." David heard the commanding general say over an open channel. An incoming transmission message appeared on his main screen.

"Major Darlton, as much as I hate to say it, you and your Glaston Knights should start packing your bags."

"What happened sir?" David asked with curiosity.

"Your transfer request has been granted. The Knight of Two has personally intervened to have your unit redeployed to Area 11. Word is that she's planning something big and wants you five to be a part of it, probably due to your personal connections to the situation there." The general informed him. When they received word that Andreas Darlton, their adoptive father, had been killed in battle against the Order of Black Knights, the Glaston Knights immediately filed for a transfer. It had been initially denied on the grounds that they were of better use to the Empire in the Middle East. When Cornelia was captured, they again requested a transfer.

But that was then. Secilia was planning major operations in the coming weeks, and her authority allowed her to poach all the good pilots she wanted from anywhere but Europe itself.

"You guys all hear that?" David asked his fellow Glaston Knights, who were all on the same channel.

"Hell, it's about time we get to go fight those damned Elevens." Alfred replied.

"We'll teach them to fear us again. For father and Princess Cornelia!" Bart seconded.

"When do we leave?" David asked the general.

"Your flight leaves tomorrow morning. Make sure you get some rest, I hear that the Knight of Two is very demanding of her soldiers."

"Understood, sir."

* * *

The sound of a door opening above her willed Kallen up from her seat on the U shaped couch. She moved to meet Zero as he descended the stairs.

"You look worried, something wrong?" Zero asked her as he stopped on the bottom step.

"My mother. I'm worried about what they might to do her."

"I'm assuming you mean your real mother, not the stepmother you hate." Kallen nodded.

"Don't worry, Kallen. You don't know what it feels like to lose your mother, and you'll never have to." Lelouch assured her. "I have a plan to get her out of there."

"You always do." She smiled, seeing her vague reflection on the mask.

* * *

2:37 AM. Three black vans advance through the gate onto the grounds of the Stadtfeld estate. They kill the headlights as they are about to turn the last bend before coming up to the front of the building. As they stop, the side doors open. Twelve Britannian soldiers wearing special operations gear disembark. Out of the middle van's passenger seat comes a man in a spotless OSI uniform. The thirteen of them move up the walkway to the large front door. The first soldier checks the handle, but finds it to be locked. He looks back to the OSI officer, who nods his head and begins fishing through his pocket for ear protection. Two other Britannian soldiers move up the stack with their automatic shotguns. They ready the weapons with breaching rounds as the officer counts down from five with his hand.

The OSI officer gives the signal, and they breach the door, the wood and thin metal standing no chance against the fury of over a dozen 12 gauge rounds at 500 rpm. The lead soldiers smashed through the door into the lobby to find a stunned and angry Mrs Stadtfeld.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" She yelled as she came down the stairs. All twelve soldiers stood in the lobby, their Britannian military issue assault weapons covering every access point.

"Hina Kouzuki. Where is she?" The OSI officer replied coldly, clearly not caring about the property damage or distress they were causing.

"That terrible Eleven maid? She's...locked in an upstairs bedroom." She told the man in the suit. He motioned for one of the four man teams to go upstairs and retrieve her. The team ascended the stairs onto the second floor and quickly found the room she was in.

"Get away from the door!" The squad leader yelled out. The large man kicked the door in, easily crushing the thin wood around the locking mechanism. As they expected, they found their target sitting on her bed, appearing resigned to her fate. The second man in the squad walked over and extended his hand.

"Come with us." He ordered in a commanding tone. Kouzuki looked at their assault weapons, and then at the soldier. She did not attempt to resist, knowing that it would cause her nothing but more pain.

Less than a minute later all fourteen of them were outside and boarding the vehicles, leaving a furious Mrs Stadtfeld without any compensation or clear explanation for their intrusion.

"Sir, we have secured the target and are RTB." The man in the suit radioed in from the front vehicle. In the center vehicle, Hina looked over at one of the heavily armed and armored special ops soldiers, his helmet concealing his face just like all the rest of them.

"Am I going to die?" She asked quietly with a hint of sadness.

"Only if Kallen hugs you to death." Came the man's response. Her head shot up as the man removed his helmet, revealing that he was in fact Japanese. "Were we really that convincing?"

"You aren't Britannian soldiers?" She asked with a much more hopeful tone. A second man removed his helmet to reveal a Britannian face.

"Some of us were. Until we decided that fighting for Zero was better than fighting for king and country. Kallen was worried about your safety. Judging from those bruises on your arms, I'd say her concerns were well placed."

"But how?" She asked.

"It's no secret how close those two are. Zero would do just about anything for her, including this fake Britannian special forces raid. He even told us to use the shotguns to breach the doors for some extra shock and awe effect." The soldier told her as he patted the automatic shotgun next to him. Her only response was a smile of relief.

* * *

"Zero, the op at the mansion went as smooth as ice. They are bringing her back now." Ougi informed their masked leader.

"Excellent. Kallen will be glad to hear the news." Zero replied. Ougi suddenly looked as if he had forgotten something. He searched through his pocket and produced an envelope. He handed it to Zero.

"What's this?" Zero asked as he examined the ornate wax seal on the back.

"We've received an official letter from Kyoto. The instructions were that you are to personally open it." Ougi told him. Zero gently cracked the seal and opened the envelope to find a letter inside. He unfolded the paper and began to read it. Ougi stood nearby, curious as to what it said.

"It's an invitation for a face to face meeting. According to this, they want to transport us to one of their secret bases. There's coordinates and a specific time two days from now. I believe this location is in a ghetto south west of Tokyo." Zero informed him.

"A real meeting? Sounds like we're finally gaining a bit more recognition."

"With the JLF destroyed, they need someone else to carry the banner. None of the other resistance or terrorist groups can compare with what we've accomplished so far, but I expect that they still do not fully trust us enough to blindly hand over whatever resources they are willing to provide. Deploy some recon teams to the area. I want to make sure this isn't an elaborate trap by the new Viceroy." Zero ordered.

"You think they could come up with something this convincing?" Ougi wondered.

"I don't know the Knight of Two well enough to predict every move she could make. With Cornelia and Clovis before her, I had the advantage of thoroughly understanding their personalities and styles of action, and that made it easy to manipulate the conditions into our favor. We need to stay alert for now. I cannot accurately predict what she will do until she has already done something."

* * *

"We are now approaching Tokyo Settlement, ETA to landing is five minutes." The pilot reported over the heavy transport plane's local frequency. Behind him in the spacious cargo bay stood five Gloucester frames, one in front of the other. The Glaston Knights were already in their knightmares, ready to unload them when the aircraft touched down at their destination airbase just north of the city.

"Take a look at that." Alfred said over their encrypted channel as he tapped into the transport's forward looking camera system. Just under two thousand feet down and five miles ahead of them was the huge expanse of the Britannian city built over the ruins of Tokyo. Tall glass lined skyscrapers and gigantic solar panel arrays reflected and amplified the city's light, making it stand out in absolute contrast to the dark ghettos surrounding most of the city. "Like an island in the middle of a blue ocean."

"Yeah. An island surrounded by hungry sharks." David followed up. They had already been briefed midflight about the situation on the ground. There were an abundance of terrorist and resistance units that called the old ghettos home. Most of the area outside of the Britannian city was effectively enemy controlled territory. They had also been informed of the Black Knights and how their known standard operating procedures went. Although they had proven that they were technically capable of standing head to head against Britannian forces, both sides were well aware that they did not have the resources to do it often. The efficient hit and run raids and ambushes that had been going on since the Battle of Narita had yet to show any sign of slowing.

With extreme suddenness and without any warning, alarms began blaring through the interior of the transport aircraft.

"What's going on?" David yelled over the comms to the pilot. Before he could answer, a bright flash on the screen in front of him did. One of the plane's two escort fighters exploded in full view of the forward camera that they were watching. The other broke left as the pilot replied.

"Enemy anti air has us locked! Missiles are incoming! Countermeasures aren't working, we can't shake them!" The pilot yelled back.

"Open the cargo doors!" David ordered the pilot.

"Yes Sir! What's your plan?"

"Eject." David told him as he eyed a fallen building which was leaning against an adjacent one at approximately a 50 degree angle. "Ready your Gloucesters and prepare to jump on my mark! We did not come all this way to get blown out of the sky within visual range of the airfield!" Major Darlton ordered his brothers. Being already in their units, it took them only seconds to prepare. Thirteen seconds passed in silence. "Out the back now! Try to land on that downed building!" He yelled. One by one the purple knightmare frames fell out of the transport into freefall against the night sky. The transport's pilot ejected as they were doing this. Several seconds later, the sky lit up with fire as both the transport plane and the second escort fighter took direct hits from laser guided surface to air missiles.

Although the Gloucester frame was never designed to fall 1500 feet from the back of a plane, it was either jump or die for the Glaston Knights. One by one they all made a very hard landing on the derelict office building. The force was so strong that Bart and Claudio actually went all the way through the structure and fell out the other side to the ground.

They struggled to regain composure after the massive shock of impact, first checking themselves and then their frames. Amazingly, despite suffering moderate damage to their leg armor, all of the five Gloucesters remained operational.

"Those missiles came from somewhere east of here." David told his brothers as they rallied up at the base of the destroyed building. "We're going to take them out before they can hit anyone else."

"I guess that makes us the Empire's dedicated anti missile squad." Alfred remarked as all five of them began to move east.

They made it down three dark, quiet streets unopposed. The five Britannians turned their knightmares onto the fourth street and immediately found themselves under fire. Three black knightmares, two Burais and one Sutherland were at the other end of the road. The Gloucesters' factsphere sensors quickly identified the type of knightmare, their KAR 25G assault rifles, and the European made Archer SAM launcher fitted to the enemy Sutherland. David, Edgar, and Alfred returned fire with their own assault rifles. Bart and Claudio broke left and began speeding down a parallel street. Their rifles had been destroyed, and their lances lost during the hard landing, leaving them with two arm mounted stun tonfas and twin slash harkens each.

Instead of panicking when engaged by a superior number of superior enemy frames, the pilots of the three black knightmares began spraying out suppressive fire and retreating in an organized fashion. Unfortunately for them, their retreat pattern put them directly in front of the two flanking Gloucesters. The Britannians launched their slash harkens as the enemy opened fire with their rifles. The two Glaston Knights dodged most of the incoming fire, taking only minor damage as their harkens lashed out at the enemy's rifles. Claudio's harkens hit and destroyed one Burai's weapon, but the other pilot dodged Bart's. They both charged the Burai with the last remaining rifle, their stun tonfas smashing into the black knightmare, crushing the assault rifle and inflicting terrible damage. The pilot ejected off into the distance as the other three fully armed Gloucesters turned the corner to join the fight. The second Burai pilot soon joined him.

The anti air Sutherland was not so lucky. His frame was backed into a position that made a safe ejection impossible. He began firing his Sutherland's remaining Archer missiles in an attempt to force his way out into the road to eject. The Glaston Knights had another idea, sending torrents of rifle fire into the enemy unit. Explosive rounds tore through the Sutherland's legs, forcing it to fall over at the exact moment the pilot hit the ejection mechanism. The cockpit block successfully ejected from the frame a full two meters into the concrete below it under the power of its quad rocket thrusters. The entire unit then exploded, killing the pilot.

Less than a minute later they received an incoming transmission.

"I was informed that your transport was shot down. What is your status?" Viceroy Vasburg asked.

"All of our frames have suffered moderate damage, but we are still operational. We located and neutralized the enemy anti air unit that shot us down, destroying three enemy knightmares in the process." Major Darlton replied.

" Here less than a half hour and already inflicting damage on the enemy? Outstanding job, Darlton. Now you need to get out of the ghettos immediately, before the Black Knights send reinforcements." She ordered.

"Those Black Knights didn't seem so tough, Excellency."

"They are known to send newer and inexperienced pilots on raids like that. Their elite operators would have no trouble tearing you all to pieces in the condition you're in, now get moving. I'll send you the coordinates of the recovery team I dispatched inside the settlement, it's closer than the base you were supposed to land at." The Viceroy ordered.

"Understood, Excellency." David acknowledged as he forwarded the movement plan to the rest of the Glaston Knights.

"Welcome to Area 11."


	14. Wildfire

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Milly Ashford leaned back in her chair at the head of the empty student council meeting room's table as she waited for the others to arrive. She began to drift away into thought, trying yet again to make sense of the past week. The more she thought over the massive collection of puzzle pieces in her head, the more sense it began to make.

The door slid open, breaking the complete silence. Shirley and Rivalz, the remaining two active student council members walked in together on time. Although Suzaku was still technically a member of the student council, they had not seen him in over a week due to the new viceroy's military buildup. As they were sitting down they both noticed that the table was clear. Rivalz quickly figured out that this was no ordinary student council meeting.

For once, the thought of Milly not handing them a large stack of paperwork didn't feel so alien. Even after a week, the shock of having their quiet, frail friend revealed as Zero's red grim reaper hadn't worn off. Out of all the numerous historic events that had occurred, the seemingly least significant one had hit them hardest.

"Shirley, Rivalz, we need to talk." Their president began.

"It's about Lulu and Kallen isn't it?" Shirley asked her. Milly nodded silently.

"I've figured out what's really going on here."

"You mean why Lelouch, Nunnally, and Nina disappeared after Kallen gave that interview? I heard a few students saying that they transferred to a school in the mainland, but I don't believe for a second they wouldn't have told us."

"Yeah. I don't know of any easy way to say this, but please try not to hate me." Milly told them, knowing that they were unlikely to easily accept it.

"Lelouch is our friend too. I want to know." Rivalz assured her.

"Shirley, go lock the door. I need you both to swear that you will never repeat what you hear in this room." Milly commanded in a much more serious voice.

"Is this like one of those 'this message will self destruct in five seconds' moments?" Rivalz joked.

"This isn't a game Rivalz. Now I'm not saying anything more until you both swear to keep it a secret." Milly then proceeded to make them both swear to secrecy. After they both finished, she slowly began. "Lelouch and I, we've been...lying to you. For as long as you've known us." Shirley and Rivalz sat silently on the other side of the table, wondering how they had managed to lie for years without a single slip. "Lelouch isn't who you think he is. Lamperouge is just an alias. He's gone through a lot of trouble to make sure the world thinks that he's dead." Ashford began to explain.

"What do you mean? Why would Lulu do that?" Shirley asked. Milly closed her eyes and exhaled before putting on the most serious face they had ever seen from her.

"Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, Lelouch vi Britannia." She paused for a few seconds to let her words sink in. "Seven years ago, Lelouch and Nunnally were sent here officially as imperial representatives to the Kururugi government of Japan. Unofficially, they were little more than political hostages. The truth is much worse. The Emperor sent them here to die."

"Lelouch is a prince? And his own father wanted him dead?" Shirley wanted to know. It was obvious to anyone that knew her that what she was hearing had clearly not hit her yet. Milly nodded.

"The Emperor tried to have Lelouch and Nunnally killed during the invasion in order to blame it on the Japanese and use them as martyrs. But they ultimately evaded all the assassins sent after them until Lelouch managed to fake their deaths. The Ashford family helped him do that, and hide in plain sight as students in our new academy. But the oath is what really puts this all together."

"What oath?"

"I overheard him talking about it with my grandfather one night, years ago. He blames the Emperor for all the terrible things that happened to them. He swore to kill the Emperor and destroy the Empire. At the time, my grandfather probably thought it just an outburst of an angry child. But knowing Lelouch..." Rivalz cut her off.

"He would do anything for Nunnally. It's going to take a while for all this to really sink in, but I... think I understand now."

"Exactly, Rivalz." Milly stood up.

"Did you know...about Kallen too?" Shirley hesitantly asked their blonde president.

"Not completely Shirley. I knew that she was half Japanese, but not that she was part of the resistance. But now that we know that Kallen is effectively part of the Black Knights' leadership, there are a few ways this could have worked out." Milly started to slowly walk around the table. "Kallen could have figured out who Lelouch is, and recruited him into the Black Knights. Or Lelouch could have found out who Kallen is and used her to join. But there's always the third option."

"He isn't exactly the most willing follower." Rivalz pointed out, forming a smile from Milly.

"We always thought our vice president was just lazy." Milly looked at Shirley. "You always pointed out how he never seemed to apply himself." She then shifted to Rivalz. "Have you noticed that Lelouch's attendance has dropped from bad to the very edge of passable since Shinjuku?"

"Yeah, actually now that I think about it. After that he's barely asked me to do anything with him. Illegal or not." Rivalz pointed out.

"Think back to the day Shinjuku happened. Does it really seem like just a coincidence that the resistance manages to go from running and hiding to win such a decisive victory merely two hours after Lelouch loses you?"

"He called me..." Shirley whispered. "He called me that morning, asking about what the news said was happening in Shinjuku. I... thought I heard gunfire in the background."

"I guess our favorite prince has been applying himself after all." Milly commented with a grin. Rivalz followed up.

"Lelouch said it better himself that morning. If the king does not lead..."

* * *

The sniper clicked the red button on the top of his rifle's large scope, switching the view from visible light to black hot thermal to see through the morning fog. He scanned the road to the east while his spotter checked the visible end of the park at the end of the road to their north.

From their well concealed position on the 22nd floor of an abandoned office building, the team of two had an excellent view of the surrounding area. On the same level of the office building's twin structure behind them, Shinkirou team was covering the west and south approaches.

The sniper, callsign Ghost 1, checked the time on the small computer next to him. Thirty one minutes until the deadline. He motioned to his spotter, Ghost 2, and tapped his wrist as if he were wearing a watch. The spotter nodded and moved back into an interior room.

"Ghost team reporting in. Our sector is clear. No enemy presence detected in the last twenty hours." The spotter informed over a secure channel.

"Good to hear." Zero's altered voice replied.

"Shinkirou team reporting. A black limousine has stopped on the road to the south. There is a man wearing a suit standing outside of it. He appears to be unarmed."

"Excellent, that is the signal I was expecting. Maintain eyes on target. If this is a trap you will need to stop that vehicle." Zero instructed his sniper team.

"Understood, sir." Shinkirou 1 replied as he looked over to the massive AM145 rifle next to him. Short for Anti Materiel 14.5mm, the weapon was not actually a rifle, but instead a smooth bore sniper system chambered in 14.5x114mm. Utilizing a discarding sabot system to fire what was effectively an ultra high velocity armor piercing fin stabilized dart, the AM145 could penetrate lightly armored vehicles such as APCs from ranges in excess of three kilometers. The weapon was actually overpowered for the job at hand, capable of over penetrating and killing the limo's occupants if the sniper failed to hit the engine block from the correct angle.

* * *

Twelve hundred meters away from the sniper teams, Zero, Kallen, and Ougi prepared to break cover and move to the limo. Although now very sure that this meeting was in fact real, and not a Britannian trap, Lelouch was still taking no chances, especially with the two people he chose to bring with him. All three of them were equipped with the latest in light weight personal full body armor, recently acquired through supernatural means.

All three were equipped with integrated tracking devices and a pistol each. Bringing assault rifles or CQB modified battle rifles to a meeting would not appear very friendly. Lelouch looked over at his two companions as they double checked their weapons and armor.

Although he rarely wished to be in the spotlight, Ougi was a solid fighter and a naturally talented leader, not that he would ever admit it. He always tended to bring a calm and collected point of view to the situation.

Kallen on the other side, was easily one of the most deadly warriors in the world. As dangerous as she was beautiful, and she had few equals in either department. Together, they brought an excellent and diverse skill set.

They exited the safe house and began walking toward the street with the waiting limo. Aside from two stray cats, the back alleys they were moving through were deserted.

"Why isn't CC coming with us?" Kallen asked Zero as they neared the target location.

"She's already there, setting up plan B in case something goes wrong." He replied.

"You know where we're going? I thought Kyoto went through a lot of trouble to keep their bases hidden."

"Not as good as we do. I've determined that their main base is located within the Mt Fuji sakuradite mines." Zero revealed, getting looks of surprise from his companions.

"So you sent her to infiltrate the base. Do we get a plan C?" She asked. Zero tapped the pistol on his right side.

"You're already wearing it."

Three minutes later, they appeared from an alley way directly opposite the limo. The man opened the rear door for them. As they entered, he shut the door and returned to the forward passenger seat. He pressed a button on the forward console, and a set of armor plates rose between the windows and the interior.

"My apologies, but we must maintain secrecy. The armor doubles as a sight blocker." The Kyoto driver informed them through the comms system. The interior of the limo darkened as external light was denied entry. Zero pressed a tiny green button hidden on his neck to send a highly encrypted signal, indicating that everything was proceeding as planned just as the limo began to move away.

* * *

Many miles away from the pickup point, CC sat in the cockpit of her captured Burai bored out of her mind waiting to execute the third part of her mission. The first stage was to infiltrate the base itself, not a problem with all the ways in and out of the vast Mt Fuji sakuradite mines. The second part was much more challenging.

Once inside the base, CC was tasked with identifying and sabotaging any knightmares inside the facility. Zero had provided her with an excellent way of doing this without a massive amount of noisy explosives. A simple USB stick loaded with a virus created to neutralize the common operating system of Glasgow based knightmare frames, including the Japanese Burai. The virus had to be inserted manually in each unit however, and that meant gaining physical access to the cockpit of every frame without being detected.

And now, twenty seven hours, five sabotaged Burais, and three well hidden and thoroughly tranquilized bodies later, CC had nothing to do but listen to her hungry stomach and wait for the guests to arrive. She looked over and saw that it was almost two hours past the pickup deadline. She saw what appeared to be Kirihara arrive in the large room, flanked on both sides by armed bodyguards. He took a seat behind a concealing screen on the far end of the room.

Suddenly, the lighting above the six tan knightmares went out, shrouding them in darkness. The familiar sound of a heavy elevator and a large blast door opening reverberated around the room. The black limousine slowly rolled off of the elevator into the bright side of the room near the large windows overlooking the mining operations below.

CC activated her unit's factsphere sensor and moved her view up to 2x zoom, just in time to identify Zero, Kallen, and Ougi step out of the back as a man wearing a black suit held the door open for them. They walked forward, Zero in the center, before stopping ten meters from Kirihara's guards.

"Ah, the famous Zero. I am glad that we finally have this opportunity to meet in person." Kirihara began from behind his screen.

"As am I. Kyoto's support thus far has been greatly appreciated." Zero replied. "I believe my Black Knights have passed your test."

"My test?"

"Yes, that was the intention of supplying us with advanced weapons, was it not? You wished to find out if we were worth your time and resources."

"Very good. It appears that your reputation is not exaggerated, Zero. Yes, it was a test, just as you said. And with the few knightmare frames and Naginata tanks I sent, you surpassed all expectations. You have given the Britannians the first taste of true defeat for the first time in seven years." He paused for a few moments. "You have proven yourself an enemy of Britannia. However, that is all I am certain of. You have killed a prince, and then befriended a princess. You fought with the JLF at Narita, and against them at Kawaguchi. You recruited our oppressors, and then freed a Japanese hero. And you continue to hide your face from the world. Your true motivations and loyalties are unclear to me Zero. I will not entrust the hopes of the Japanese people to those that I cannot trust. To trust you, I must know who you truly are. Now, Zero, you will show me your face!"

To their right, lights flashed on, banishing the shadows to reveal the six Burai frames, their weapons trained on the Black Knights. And then Zero did the one thing they did not expect, he began laughing. Zero raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, giving CC the signal to activate the virus in Kyoto's Burai frames. Five of the six Burais suddenly had their ejection mechanisms activate, without igniting the rocket boosters. Their cockpit blocks disconnected from the rest of the units, rendering them completely useless. The sixth Burai in the middle turned its assault weapon to the right, putting Kirihara and his bodyguards in the line of fire. CC shifted the chest mounted machine gun to cover the men in the limo behind the Black Knights before slowly moving close enough to shield them if necessary. Kallen and Ougi pulled their pistols from their holsters, their fingers hovering close to the triggers.

"Taizo Kirihara, It was unwise to threaten me with such an insignificant force. As you can see, your security is laughable, and your tactics outdated. I will not be manipulated, and I will not be controlled." Zero informed them with commanding fashion.

"How? How is this possible?" Kirihara asked, with a mix of anger and shock.

"My best assassin has been in your base for twenty seven hours. She sabotaged each and every one of your knightmares without being detected. Had I wished it, she could have killed you a dozen times over." Zero slowly began walking closer. "Make no mistake Kirihara, I will kill Emperor Charles, tear his empire to bloody pieces, and free Japan. With or without your help. But I came here today seeking an ally, not another enemy." Zero reached behind his head and removed his mask. Kirihara sat in stunned silence as his eyes recognized a face he had not seen in the seven years since Japan's final hours.

"You...I should have known you would not stay in hiding forever. Do they know?" Kirihara asked, motioning to the two Black Knights behind him.

"The three I brought with me, and several others know. My identity is not yet common knowledge, and I would like to keep it that way for now."

"As you wish. Now, shall we get started?"

"Certainly. There is much we need to discuss." Lelouch said and he motioned for everyone to lower their weapons.

* * *

"So, when are you going to be joining us?" Jeremiah asked across the table. Cornelia looked up from the book she was reading, several strands of amethyst hair hanging over the left side of her face.

"It's not that easy for me, Jeremiah. The...Japanese want their country back, and your loyalty is to my brother first. Even if all the terrible things I've heard about my father are true, my loyalty is to Britannia, the nation I have spent half of my life fighting for." The captured princess tried to explain. Toudou, still wearing his tan JLF uniform, spoke up from the other end of the room.

"You don't quite get it, do you? Your sister is a known traitor, you are the first viceroy to be decisively defeated, and the first royal to be captured by an enemy force in living memory. Even if Zero were to let you go, your reputation is in tatters, and you would never be above suspicion again. You have no future with Britannia as long as Emperor Charles sits upon the throne."

"Besides, you don't seem to understand exactly what we're trying to do. Lelouch wants to destroy the Empire as it is, that means killing the Emperor and a lot of political change." Jeremiah continued. He looked his former commander in the eyes. "Your brother isn't going to literally incinerate the entire western hemisphere. The Britannia you helped build will still be there when this is all over." Cornelia said nothing in response. Instead, she closed her eyes and lowered her head, her mind hard at work trying to figure out her place in a very different world.

* * *

Suzaku let his eyes wander as he walked through the base under the midday sun. Just to the north of the Britannian section of Tokyo, this old Japanese air force base had been taken over by the invading armies during the first days of the Second Pacific War. Renamed Starlight Field, the Britannians quickly expanded the installation with additional runway space and five massive hangers. When the new Viceroy needed a staging area for her massive upcoming operation, this was the obvious first choice.

He looked right as he walked through the base's main road. Row after row of blue Panther tanks and Badger APCs were lined up. Ground crews and several of their white Glasgow frames hauled masses of bullets, fuel, 20mm and 130mm cannon shells, and any replacement parts the vehicles needed over to them.

On the other side of the road, more white Glasgows hauled energy fillers, weapons, and even more ammo of all types to rows of assembled Sutherland frames. Close by, fifteen standard model Gloucesters were being fitted with their lances and assault rifles.

Suzaku walked past the four guards at his destination hanger's side door and into a sea of activity. Closest to the door were the Glaston Knights and their five recently upgraded Gloucester frames, which were being further customized with the help of two white Glasgows. He looked closer at what they were doing and saw what appeared to be small wings being fitted to the sides of their cockpits.

"What is that...?" Suzaku asked to himself, oblivious to the fact that Guilford was walking up behind him.

"The Glaston Knights watched the recorded news footage from the battle at Chiba. They liked the setup of that custom Black Knights Gloucester, and decided to attempt to copy it. Unfortunately for them, we don't have anything like those boosters they have on it, so they tore the wings off of some derelict Shortswords and mounted them on the same spots." Guilford explained.

"How are they going to make it fly though?" Suzaku wondered, assuming their intent was the same.

"It won't fly, but they can mount all kinds of extra ordinance on the hard points." He explained

"Hey Suzaku, over here!" They heard a familiar voice call out from the other end of the hanger. And there was Lloyd, waving to them from the roof of the custom transport truck parked next to the good as new Lancelot. But Suzaku's eyes did not stay on the truck or the Lancelot for very long. Close by stood the black monstrosity known as Gawain that he had last seen on Shikinejima. During the brief test at the naval base, the Gawain had no external armaments, only the weapons built into the system. The gigantic MVS scythe in matching black and gold was certainly a recent addition.

As Suzaku and Guilford approached, they saw the five Glaston Knights walking over from another direction, and the Gawain's two seat cockpit open. The Viceroy roped down from the unit to stand before the seven assembled knights. She noticed them glancing at the huge black knightmare behind her.

"After we got the Hadron Cannons aligned properly, Schneizel let me keep it on the condition that I give it a proper field test. And that is why we, and this entire army, are assembled here." Secilia handed each of them a folder containing detailed mission objectives, operations maps, and an overview of their future force deployment. "I have seen how these Elevens fight. I have studied their weapons, their tactics, and even their environment. With the exception of the Black Knights, they are nothing more than weak vermin who know how to hide in their ruins. They are an infestation in need of an exterminator." She motioned for them to open the folders. "Operation Wildfire is my plan to systematically erase their resistance to imperial rule. We will surround each of their ghettos with our vastly superior army, clear them of all resistance, and then, once they have been secured, our combat engineer teams will begin work to level them. Finally, once we have ended this insurgency, we can start expanding our city." She explained as six of the seven knights began looking over the details in their folders. All except Suzaku.

"To grow a new forest, you must first burn away the old one. That is why you named it Wildfire." He said to nobody in particular.

"You catch on quickly Kururugi. Most soldiers only care about who to kill, when to kill them, and where they are, but you think deeper than that. It's a shame that more of your people aren't as bright as you." The Viceroy told him.

"They are. How else could they have fought on against such overwhelming odds for so long?" Secilia pondered his words for a second.

"You have a point, actually. The resistance in Area 11 has been the longest and strongest. You are the son of their last independent leader. So tell me Suzaku, why do they so stubbornly resist when everyone else would have accepted their fate years ago."

"The spirit of the Japanese people is unconquerable. Destroying their ability to fight will not change that."

"So what will?" She asked.

"Nothing. You are trying to solve the wrong problem, excellency. Instead of looking for a way to subjugate them, we should be thinking about how Britannia can incorporate the Japanese people to build an even stronger empire. But that is long term thinking. First we must end this senseless conflict.

"You are one interesting man with some interesting ideas, Suzaku Kururugi. Tell me more later." She turned to the rest of them. "The operation starts right here at 1100 hours tomorrow morning."

* * *

"So tell me Zero, how did your meeting with Kyoto go?" Toudou asked his new leader as he saw them return.

"Better than anticipated. Kirihara promised us their full support. Right now that translates into seven of their brand new Gekka knightmare frames, all the Burai frames and tanks they can make, and even our own one of a kind stealth submarine." Zero informed him.

"We have a submarine?" Another member of the four holy swords asked in amazement. Zero nodded.

"Equipped with six torpedo tubes, a cargo hold, the most advanced anti sonar design features available, and most importantly, a battery of eight vertical missile launch tubes that can fire while submerged."

"What's so important about the missile launchers?"

"Nina can use them as a medium to get her weapon to the enemy."

"You gave her the title of strategic weapons researcher. What exactly has she been slaving away on over there for all these weeks?" Toudou inquired.

"The most powerful weapon in human history. We have decided to call it Project Mjolnir."

"Britannia made the same claim about the knightmare frame. As good as they are, it still didn't quite live up to all the hype."

"Nina is developing a sakuradite enhanced nuclear fission bomb. The weapon theoretically has the power to vaporize an area approximately the size of central Tokyo. Multiply that by eight on board a submarine with a thousand kilometer launch radius and I think it will definitely meet expectations." Zero's synthetic voice detailed for them. "Kyoto just so happens to have the means to acquire the raw components we need to build those bombs. Imagine the ability to simply erase entire Britannian armies with the push of a button."

"I don't know if I should feel happy or terrified at the prospect. Should Britannia manage to get a hold of a weapon with that kind of power, I can barely imagine the atrocities they would commit." Toudou commented.

"Funny you should mention that, because the Britannian army was to be her first choice for a source of funding had I not discovered her working on it. She's a very disconnected scientist. Nina only really cares about her work, not what people use it for." Zero lied, knowing that without the influence of his Geass, Nina was a firm believer in Britannian superiority, and would have been happy to work for the Empire.

"I guess we got lucky then." He commented as Zero began to walk toward Nina's makeshift research lab. "Zero! You should talk to Cornelia when you get the chance, I believe she might actually be thinking about joining us."

"Getting her to fight for us, and making her believe it is the right thing to do are very different. Having Euphemia on our side makes it effortlessly easy to manipulate her. The real challenge is getting Britannia's warrior princess to fight her own people for more than just protecting her sister. That will take some time."

"I see you have already thought it out in detail. I should have expected as much." The former JLF officer observed.

"One last thing. You and your swords need to strip those custom Burai frames of anything personal you want to take with you. The first five of our seven new Gekka frames have your names on them."

* * *

Nina's corner of the Black Knights' warehouse base had grown a reputation not unlike Area 51. Behind the high metal dividers was a secret place where secret experiments were conducted. Sitting within a mess of papers, boxes, and high tech computer equipment was one of the smartest people in the world.

It was by dumb luck that Lelouch had figured out what she was trying to create in her spare time in the student council room. Using the power of his Geass to effectively enslave someone he once thought of as a friend was not something he was proud of. But it was a minor sacrifice to make compared to the thought of a Britannian Empire capable of vaporizing any city they wished. In a way, Lelouch almost felt that she was better off this way. Nina was free to conduct the research and development that she loved, and would hopefully never have to find out how it feels to enable the annihilation of millions of innocent people.

"How are you doing Nina?" Zero asked as he approached from behind. She took another sip of the now cold coffee next to her keyboard before turning.

"I'm certain that I have perfected the weapon." She announced in a happy, if very tired tone. Nina motioned to the third screen on her right as she began a simulation. "When uranium 235 is forced into a self sustaining chain reaction, it releases massive amounts of radiation. If we made a bomb based upon this sequence alone,it would generate a titanic explosion, but the subsequent radioactive contamination would poison the target area for years. However, if you surround the chain reacting uranium with a layer of pure sakuradite, something amazing happens." Nina pointed out the effect on the screen. "The nuclear chain reaction generates heat sufficient to begin splitting the sakuradite atoms. When this happens, the otherwise released radiation is absorbed into the sakuradite reaction, dramatically increasing the speed and intensity of the process. More simply, the uranium's radiation reacts with the sakuradite reaction to cause a massive increase in explosive yield. This two stage hybrid weapon would have be nearly 60% stronger, and leave virtually no radioactive contamination." The scientist explained.

"What kind of damage could something like that do?" Zero asked her.

"The yield would be determined by the size of the weapon, and the ratio of uranium 235 to sakuradite. If I left the physical size the exact same as my earlier designs, the blast would leave a crater larger than the Britannian section of Tokyo. The blast wave and thermal pulse would extend far beyond the actual fireball. I cannot accurately predict how far these effects would reach without a real test detonation, but if I had to estimate, the weapon would incinerate everything within at least a ten to fifteen kilometer radius from the point of impact." Nina predicted.

Lelouch was nearly stunned by what she was telling him. It was still hard to grasp that a weapon of such unimaginable destructive power was almost within his reach. What Nina was describing to him made even the largest conventional ordinance look like tiny fire crackers in comparison.

"Kyoto has agreed to provide us with a one of a kind submarine, complete with an underwater ballistic missile launcher. As it turns out, they are able to acquire all of the raw materials that you asked for to build operational Mjolnir warheads. I had them load the submarine with the material shipment, where you will be able to assemble the weapons and load them onto missiles. It is inevitable that we will eventually have to engage full strength Britannian armies in the open if we hope to win. The ability to remove entire enemy formations on demand could determine the outcome." Zero informed her.

"I'll do my best for you." She replied, faint red rings still visible around her eyes. She reached for the nearly depleted cup of coffee, but Lelouch grabbed it first.

"You've been doing your best ever since you got here, Nina. Now go get some sleep, you look absolutely exhausted."

* * *

The door opened on command, and Zero stepped up into the large vehicle. The usually active room was silent for once, and apparently empty. At least it was empty until Zero's vision reached the middle of the U shaped couch. Cornelia sat in the center, dressed in her complete Britannian military uniform. Her expression radiating an aura of cold seriousness.

"So I've heard that you might be interested in wearing a new uniform." Lelouch spoke first as he removed his mask.

"Tell me the truth Lelouch." Cornelia commanded.

"About what, exactly?"

"What are you really trying to do with this revolution you've started? You publicly said you just want to destroy Britannia, but what Jeremiah told me earlier amounts to little more than an elaborite coup."

"Direct to the point...very well. I formed the Black Knights to forge a better world." Lelouch began.

"I'm not interested in the politics and flowery speech Lelouch, I want the truth." The former Viceroy interrupted him.

"I am going to kill the emperor and all who would defend him. I am going to tear down this empire that he built upon the backs of those he conquered and enslaved. There will be no more Areas, no more Numbers, no more Darwinism." Lelouch told her, directly to the point.

"Now tell me why. Is it for revenge? Ideology? Or maybe you are really after the throne? I know you were never officially disinherited." Cornelia speculated.

"Honestly, all of it. But revenge is at the top of the list. For Nunnally, for my mother, and for the Japanese people. The easiest way to do that is to become the emperor, and I fully intend on getting to the top by whatever means necessary."

"So assuming you win, what happens to Britannia?" Cornelia asked her brother.

"There are several possibilities that I am considering. The first is that I simply free every Area from imperial rule. That is the easiest, but also the most risky approach. There is a real possibility that Europe and China will move to take over as soon as the Britannian flags come down." Lelouch explained.

"The second option is that I give every Area a choice of whether to remain a part of the Empire or not. This would most likely turn out exactly the same as the first way. The third option is harder to sell to the people than the first two, but would probably hold together better." He continued.

"And what would that be?" She asked with a mild hint of curiosity.

"Free the Areas without releasing them from the Britannian Empire. It would be in effect an improved version of the EU style system where independent nations exist within a larger entity." Lelouch detailed for her.

"How would you setup that up?" Cornelia inquired.

"The monarchy would continue to rule mainland Britannia. Each member nation would have a government type of their choice, and would have representation in Pendragon. Britannia keeps the benefits of having a global empire, and everyone else keeps the benefits of being a part of it, minus the oppressive colonialism." He explained.

"To me, that sounds like you have found a way to make a win win outcome."

"If fighting for justice and the freedom of billions still isn't enough, may I remind you that Euphemia will be on the front lines fighting the very best and brightest of the Britannian military. Do you really want to be sitting here on this couch when that time comes? You already know how it feels to have no control over her fate. And of course I could always pass that video on to my good friend Mr Ried, who would be more than happy to beam it around the world in seconds." Lelouch reminded with a smile.

"You really are one cold, manipulative bastard. Even more so than Schneizel." She paused for a moment. "I never really had a choice, did I?"

"You always have a choice Cornelia, I just worked hard to make sure that only one was worth it."

* * *

It was a cool, clear autumn morning in the Shinagawa ghetto of southern Tokyo. The area's Japanese residents had little time to appreciate the natural beauty however. A massive Britannian military force was in the process of surrounding this section of the old city for their search and destroy mission. Panther tanks and squads of Sutherland knightmare frames raced to cut off the area's surface escape points, even though their commanders were well aware of the fact that the majority of enemy movement would be through the old subway tunnels.

The sprawling tunnel networks throughout the Tokyo area had thus far proven practically impenetrable for Britannian forces. Complete and up to date maps of the tunnels simply did not exist. The resistance forces that used them had every advantage over enemy troops brave enough to venture underground.

The local Shinagawa resistance was counting on this fact to evacuate everyone that they could before the main assault began. With only small arms, aging anti tank weapons, and a few remaining tanks from before the war, they stood little chance against the hundreds of factory fresh Britannian armored vehicles and attack aircraft arrayed against them. As much as they wanted to stand and fight, the memories of Saitama were fresh in their minds. Although most opted to retreat underground to fight another day, there were always the diehard few that refused to abandon their homes, and they worked to prepare what little defenses they could muster.

* * *

Perched atop one of the Tokyo Settlement's many outlying spires that overlooked the ghettos, the Viceroy sat in the top seat of the re purposed Gawain. Although it was originally designed as a two seat technology demonstrator and testbed, the Gawain was fully operational from one set of controls.

Secilia looked over at the real time strategic map next to her, made possible by the huge knightmare's still experimental Druid command and control system. The Druid system gave her practically every advantage of commanding from a G1 mobile base, while remaining at the front of the battle. The combination would provide her a level of tactical and strategic awareness previously unheard of.

She watched as the various blue icons representing every individual unit of her ground army finished moving into their assigned start positions. Seconds later, brigadier general Kururugi appeared on screen in his fresh new uniform from the bridge of the G1 positioned on the north end of Shinagawa.

"Viceroy, all of our forces are in position and are awaiting the orders." Secilia glanced over to see that it was 11:53 AM.

"You have made excellent time in getting our army into position Suzaku. You are to remain on the G1 and command the battle. I will be leading from the front."

"Understood, Excellency." Suzaku replied.

"Take this opportunity to learn the difference between leading from the front and commanding from the rear. That is the reason I am the Viceroy and you are not. You must learn to wield an army as well as any weapon." She advised.

"Operation Wildfire has begun, all forces move in and engage per your orders." She ordered over an open channel.

* * *

"I don't think they are holding back this time." Kallen commented on the news feed being watched by the assembled Black Knights leadership. Just like during the battle at Chiba, a HiTV news aircraft was floating above the battlefield with its extremely high quality forward mounted camera. The eye in the sky had an excellent view of the Britannian tanks and knightmares as they shattered the hastily organized defenses before them.

"It appears that their tactics have improved." Toudou observed, pointing to a spot on the screen where three Panther tanks moved down a road with the close support of a pair of Sutherlands. "Those Sutherlands should be able to keep infantry from easily disabling the tanks."

Suddenly, the formation of blue armor on screen began taking sustained rocket fire from the 13th floor of a building further down the road. Flames roared out from within the barrels of the Panthers' 130mm cannons as they returned fire. The first three AP shells slammed into the building, but did not silence the barrage. Just as the woman at the news desk finished making a comment about the "Elevens' inability to aim properly", twin beams of red destruction impacted the target floor at each end. The searing hot plasma beams moved from the edges to the center, incinerating the entire floor with temperatures in excess of five thousand degrees.

The nose mounted camera quickly traced the bright beams back to their source, just in time to see the Gawain's twin shoulder mounted hadron cannons cease firing as it hovered over Shinagawa approximately 900 meters from its target.

"We need to move our main base out of Tokyo. With a force that large, it will be only a matter of time before they find us here. And I don't believe we will be able to hold this position against such a sustained assault." Ougi predicted.

"I agree. Using a warehouse as our main staging point made sense when the enemy's smaller force had its attention split between us and the numerically superior JLF. We need to find a more secure location. " Zero agreed.

"No need to go shopping." To everyone's surprise, the voice came not from the group assembled around the TV, but from the stairs behind them. They turned to see Cornelia, dressed in a black version of her old uniform.

"What do you mean?"

"The mountain fortress at Narita. After the battle, a special ops team went into the base and found that the JLF had taken what high value items they could and destroyed the rest to cover their tracks when they abandoned it. We were too busy digging bodies and equipment out of your landslide to actually destroy the base. It should be just as the SF team left it. Abandoned, but otherwise intact and easily repairable." As Cornelia reached the bottom of the steps, everyone was still just staring, trying to absorb the sight of her wearing what was clearly a personal Black Knights uniform. "Besides, even with their vastly superior army, you should be able to defend that mountain again."

"Should I send a team to scout the base out?" Ougi asked.

"Don't bother. I'll go myself. I have been in and out of that base for the past fifteen years. I can provide the most accurate assessment of its condition." Toudou volunteered.

"Consider that my first contribution to the Black Knights." Cornelia announced as she moved to sit down next to her sister.

"I was beginning to think you were just going to be stubborn." Euphemia said with a smile.

"I love you too much to leave your fate in the hands of others again. Treason is a price I am willing to pay to protect you Euphie. I never had a choice, I just had to realize it."


	15. A Lesson in Code Breaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Cornelia took the advice of a nearby Black Knight and picked up some heavy ear protection before stepping through the door into their base's makeshift firing range. A clever setup consisting of thick plastic walls and a layer of sound absorbing material, the enclosure contained twenty eight old shipping containers organized into seven rows. At the back of the firing lanes sat a small mountain of sand with a large angled steel plate backing to absorb the incoming small arms fire.

She was immediately greeted with the noise and reverberations of assault rifle fire. A quick glance down the line revealed that only lane five was currently occupied. The newly converted princess had come here to simply shoot something for the first time in a month. Based on the amount of traffic that came in and out on a regular basis, she expected the place to be full of anonymous Black Knights she didn't know.

Upon noticing that her sister was the only one firing, she just stood and observed for a few moments. Euphemia was sending rapid three round bursts down range, accompanied by bright muzzle flashes and a rain of spent rounds bouncing off of the metal wall next to her. For Cornelia, it was a truly amazing sight to see her looking like a professional soldier. The assault rifle clicked empty after what she unconsciously counted to be the sixth burst. She fluidly switched the empty rifle for a Britannian military issue pistol and unloaded an additional thirteen rounds. Cornelia approached her as the firing stopped.

"Who taught you how to shoot so well?" Cornelia asked her sister, walking up to her in her new gold highlighted black outfit.

"Lelouch did, after Narita." She answered.

"It's still hard to imagine him doing the shooting in person."

"Nine on the bridge of the G1 at Shinjuku, and four JLF soldiers at the Kawaguchi Hotel." Euphemia counted aloud.

"You don't need to remind me about Clovis. I don't know how he could live with himself knowing that the first person he killed was his own brother."

"He never told you, did he?" Euphemia asked her sister.

"Told me what?" Cornelia wondered.

"Clovis was not the first person he killed." Euphemia ejected the spent magazine from her pistol and reached for a full one. "He told me about it one night. Just after the invasion of Japan he was carrying Nunnally through a village the Britannian military had attacked the previous day to reach Toudou's remaining forces..."

* * *

2010 ATB, 97 hours after the start of Britannian ground operations in Japan.

Lelouch panted as he walked down the sun baked road. Although it would have been hard enough anyway, carrying Nunnally on his back made it a grueling endeavor. He thought about finding a shady place to rest in the village in front of them, but quickly decided against it as they got closer. For the first time, he was glad that his little sister was blind. Her curse happened to be a gift for the moment, sparing her the gruesome sight in front of them.

Along the main road down the center of the village were the remains of its residents. Dozens of corpses were still laying where they died. Men, women, and children, all dead, mostly civilians. Multiple gunshot wounds on every body indicating that this was clearly no accident. These people were murdered simply because they were Japanese.

Lelouch was pulled out of thought by sounds up ahead. He quickly identified them as two Britannian marines, most likely part of the initial landing force. He told Nunnally to keep quiet as he moved them both out of sight next to a bullet scarred wall.

"Stay here and cover your ears. Those soldiers will hurt us if they know we're here." He instructed. Nunnally nodded before covering her ears with her hands. Lelouch looked around the corner to see what the Britannian infantrymen were doing. What he saw almost made him sick. The two men had their rifles slung on their backs and were picking through the bodies on the street, looting the dead. He saw them kick the body of a child away from his mother to sift through her corpse, taking a necklace and a ring.

The young prince simply could not bear to watch any longer. After looking around to see that they were the only two Britannians in the area, most likely on leave, he felt compelled to act. Lelouch quietly got up and emerged from behind the wall to see both of the blue clad Marines facing away from him. He reached down and pulled out the Japanese pistol from the back of his belt. Although it had been nearly six weeks since he had learned how to shoot it when Toudou took him to visit a Japanese military base, the memories were still fresh in his mind.

Lelouch took up the firing position he was taught and aligned the weapon's iron sights over the Britannian on the left. Fortunately for him, they were not wearing their heavy body armor, which would have easily stopped his pistol rounds, due to the fact it was so hot out and they were not in a designated combat zone. The prince squeezed the trigger twice, creating a set of bloody holes in his target's exposed back.

As the first man fell forward, he shifted his aim to the other one who turned around, clearly shocked to see a young Britannian boy holding the weapon that had just killed his friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but was never given the chance. Three more rounds quickly closed the distance to hit him in the right knee, the second grazed the top of his right shoulder, and finally though the nose, creating a dramatic spray of blood and brain matter from the back of his head as the bullet created a sizable exit wound.

Lelouch did not know what he would feel before he pulled the trigger. As the two lay dead in an expanding pool of blood in the middle of the road, the first feeling hit him, and it felt good. He had just protected Nunnally and himself, and exacted some measure of vengeance for the dozens of the Empire's victims around him. In the midst of so much pain and defeat, one tiny victory was enough to renew his motivation. He went back to pick up Nunnally before struggling to carry her four more kilometers to relative safety.

* * *

Euphemia extended her hand to her sister, holding the freshly reloaded pistol by the slide. "Our brother has killed more people than you realize, through both his actions and his orders. The invasion really changed him. You could say that the Lelouch vi Britannia we knew really did die seven years ago." Euphemia paused briefly as Cornelia took the pistol's grip. "But Clovis changed as well. The Clovis that Lelouch killed was not the brother I remember. He was always so gentle and peaceful. I don't know what made him do all those horrible things in Shinjuku."

"I suppose you're right, Euphie. Even I didn't believe the reports until I saw the evidence for myself. Clovis certainly didn't seem like the kind of person that could order a genocide with a straight face. I guess power was just too corrupting for him, or perhaps he simply hadn't seen enough death up close to grasp the reality of what he was doing." She brought up the pistol and fired several rounds into the paper silhouette's head, the only spot not covered with bullet holes. All twelve of the shots impacted the center of the black area.

* * *

"Getting to our submarine won't be too difficult, but moving this entire base out of Tokyo without drawing too much attention will require some work." Ougi observed as he and several other leading Black Knights sat around a map of central Japan.

"We must be careful. The Knight of Two's army is far superior to anything we've faced before. If she catches us in the open, we will stand little chance of escape. Kallen assessed as she looked over the number and composition of known enemy units.

"Right now they are occupied with their operation to demolish the ghettos." Zero added in. "Based on the way they have been operating, and the direction they are advancing in, their battle plan seems fairly simple. Starting at Shinagawa, they completely surrounded the area and cleared it from the outside in with overwhelming force. Simple, but very effective under normal circumstances. That is, of course, assuming that the enemy is trapped somewhere inside the containment perimeter."

"What are we going to do?"

"At the rate the main Britannian force is moving, they will be surrounding the Nerima ghetto in approximately three days. At that point we can begin rapidly transporting everything we need to take through the subway tunnels where we will surface 20 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. Even then, such a large number of vehicles will draw their attention if we do not provide an effective diversion. The trucks will move with a small security detachment consisting of the Naginata tanks and a few anti air Burais. At the same time,most of our knightmare forces will launch a powerful surprise attack on their containment line at Nerima from the southwest."

"Which would draw their attention as far away from the transport trucks as possible." Jeremiah noticed as he looked at the approximate position of the future battle on their map.

"Correct. Our objective will not be to destroy the enemy army, but rather make it appear as if they have successfully forced us into the open. Once we confirm that our transports are far enough away from Tokyo, we will immediately disengage and escape into the countryside before taking an alternate route to Narita." Zero informed the assembled Black Knights.

"What happens if they discover us at Narita before we have a chance to build up? While the base is definitely usable, most of its exterior defenses were destroyed. We would have to fight a defensive battle outnumbered at least three to one with no air support and no good escape routes." Toudou asked over his video link from the base itself.

"Nina." Zero redirected the question to the genius scientist.

"The Narita area is remote and almost completely uninhabited after the first battle there. If the Britannian army masses to attack us that far into the mountains, we could destroy them with a Mjolnir bomb without risking massive civilian casualties. From the specs I've seen, the base inside the mountain should easily survive anything but a point blank detonation, while the surrounding area would be almost completely obliterated." Nina explained.

"Assembling the weapons should take about two days each, meaning our first missile will be ready for launch shortly after we arrive. If they do decide to attack us once Mjolnir is operational, we could then seize a sizable portion of Japan before Britannian reinforcements arrive, if they even decide to come at all." Zero explained, highlighting the strategic significance of a well used super weapon.

"If those missiles are going to be on the sub, who's going to be commanding it? We don't have anyone with much naval experience." Kallen asked, wondering who would receive such an important responsibility.

"She's right. Since the Black Knights have no qualified naval officers, the task will go to the person I feel most capable. Congratulations on your promotion, Admiral Kaname." Zero announced.

"Admiral? Me?"

"Would you prefer a different rank? Not that it means much at the moment since we have only one naval unit. Besides, every other excellent leader that we have is also an ace knightmare pilot, and we will need all of them up front in the coming battles. I think that you're the best man for the job. There are few I would trust with that much responsibility.

"Thank you, Zero. I guess I'll start going over the sub's layout and pack up."

* * *

"Why do you get all the badass weapons?" Luciano Bradley, Knight of Ten, asked Viceroy Secilia from his position on ground level as he watched her Gawain fly up to a fortified machine gun position on the 14th floor of a nearby apartment building, and cleave through it with her glowing hot MVS scythe.

"Because Bradley, the Gawain does not have the agility needed to properly use swords. A scythe this big does a lot of damage and covers a large area with one swing, and it's not like I need another piercing weapon with ten slash harkens." She explained as her gigantic black and gold knightmare turned in mid air to look down at his white Gloucester.

"So why not an axe or a bigger sword? Admit it, you just want that monstrosity of yours to look absolutely awesome." Luciano remarked as he rained explosive rifle fire onto a black car driving full speed toward his position. The vehicle suddenly exploded with a disproportionately large amount of force, indicating that it was filled with explosives. She smiled back at him. "These Elevens aren't putting up much of a fight. This is even easier than Cairo was.

"That's because the Black Knights aren't helping them yet. All our forces have been running into on this side of the city are poorly equipped excuses for militias."

"You think they're running scared yet? One good look at your knightmare and I wouldn't be surprised if they were."

"Be patient Bradley. They are waiting, not hiding in fear. Notice how there have been almost no Elevens left in these ghettos besides the militias? They probably know they don't have a chance in hell of beating us in the open. With no civilians in the line of fire, they have no reason to show themselves. The Black Knights will attack us when they are good and ready to, or when we find their base. Either way, we'll get to kill them eventually." The Viceroy reasoned, just as multiple rockets were launched from an adjacent building toward her. She released the Gawain's left hand from the scythe and launched the five finger slash harkens. Three connected with the incoming RPG rockets, detonating them at a safe distance. The last two continued on to the origin of the attack, one impaling an insurgent through the torso before retracting. The nearly bisected body falling off the finger to the ground below.

The other few infantry fighters on that floor began running toward a stairwell on the other side of the building. A brightening red light to their left caught their attention as they fled. The Gawain's left shoulder opened, and the men had just enough time to hear the hadron cannon's chilling howl as the single crimson beam connected with the building in front of them. With the slightest movement of her thumb, Secilia directed the superheated energy weapon to sweep over them, rapidly boiling away brick, metal, flesh, and bone.

* * *

"Infiltration successful, my lord." The man quietly spoke into the collar of his Black Knights uniform.

"Excellent. Your mission is to search and observe only, remember that Newell. If you find her, do not take any action alone. You are to report her position and any relevant details immediately." The voice on the other end instructed through Sir Newell's tiny ear receiver.

"Understood, my lord. However, it may take some time to search their base without being detected. The Black Knights rarely seem to let their guard down." Newell reported to his boss.

"Take your time, Newell. She's the last one, we need to be absolutely sure. Report back when you finish."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

Although Sir Newell thought he had found a well hidden position in the warehouse to contact his handlers, one pair of eyes had managed to find him amongst the shadows. Yuzuru Sasaki, a life long criminal and former Yakuza gangster turned Black Knight, had lived on a knife's edge long enough to see what few others could. From the age of seven, he had been honing his ability to spot those that didn't belong.

In the past, spotting law enforcement officers, undercover agents, and rival gangsters was a matter of life and death. Like most Japanese post invasion, especially the Yakuza, Sasaki was a patriot first. Before, it was usually his life on the line, but now it could be the future of all Japan, and he was not about to leave it to chance. He calmly and quietly slipped away from the spot he had been observing the Britannian from, making sure he had seen enough of the man not to forget his face.

* * *

The Black Knights' main elevator began to raise itself up from the dark tunnels below. When the platform came into view, Zero was relieved to see a large truck marked as carrying raw sewage. The drivers from Kyoto had followed the complex directions they had been provided without much difficulty.

As the first truck drove off of the platform, the elevator was lowered back down into the old subway system to raise the second truck. The vehicle came to a stop, and the back of the large metal tank opened. A ramp led from the floor up to the three mint condition silver knightmare frames kneeling inside. Just behind the three units sat a small collection of diagnostic gear and additional weapons.

The first truck's doors opened as the second one was driving off of the pad. As Zero and several other Black Knights approached the truck, they were surprised to see no Japanese drivers from Kyoto, but four Indian engineers wearing white coats.

The second truck opened itself up seconds later. Stored in the large metal tank were an additional four of the silver knightmares, the one in the back being noticeably larger than the other six. The occupants of the second truck also disembarked. Another three white clad Indian men that looked almost identical to the first group were the first out. The seventh broke the stereotype.

An Indian woman with long blonde hair stepped out of the truck, constantly twirling her pipe in her right hand. She then ordered her assistants to begin unloading the Gekka frames and their equipment from the transports.

"Rakshata Chawla, I was not informed that you would be coming in person. Welcome aboard." Zero stepped forward.

"But of course. How else am I going to acquire the combat data I need? Besides, I actually need your help with my latest project."

"You need my help?" Zero asked, intrigued.

"You did somehow manage to steal almost all of Earl Lloyd's research data, did you not? The last thing I need is a part of the energy shield technology he developed, and you currently have." Rakshata explained.

"Would that project have something to do with the last knightmare in that truck? I was expecting to get seven Gekkas."

"Technically, it is a Gekka. That knightmare is a prototype for a greatly enhanced version of my original design, the key feature being a flight system. It's not complete yet, but the prototype still performs slightly better than the standard models." She elaborated.

"How long until it is ready for combat?"

"The frame itself is ready now, actually. The flight system is going to take some work. Maybe five or six days for the entire package once I get my hands on a Blaze Luminous." Rakshata estimated.

"Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait for now. We are relocating this entire base to an abandoned JLF fortress in the Narita mountains, starting in about 40 hours. See what you can do for our knightmares until then. We are going to need every last one of them working perfectly." Zero informed her. Before Rakshata had a chance to reply, A Black Knights infantryman came running over to them.

"Zero! We just captured a Britannian infiltrator. Miss CC requested that you interrogate him personally." The soldier reported. Zero turned to follow him.

* * *

"What happened?" Zero asked the soldier as he followed him across the warehouse.

"Corporal Sasaki noticed someone acting strangely and decided to keep watching. A half hour later, he reported it. When we went back, you could just tell there was something off about this man. We pulled him aside and decided to search him. Sasaki was right about him. We found a tiny transmitter hidden in his uniform."

Zero and the soldier walked into the room to find the target handcuffed to a chair. Two other armed Black Knights were standing guard, one in front and one behind him. CC was standing next to the front guard, staring coldly at the prisoner. Zero motioned for the guards to leave the room. As the door shut behind the last of them, CC was the first to speak.

"He knows who I am. Nobody that doesn't has ever looked at me like that."

"Are you certain?"

"I've seen those eyes more than enough times. He definitely knows." CC replied. Zero turned to the man bound to the chair.

"Who are you?" Zero asked the prisoner. The man remained quiet, staring off into space. "If you think you can just sit there and remain silent,"

"You'll do what?" The prisoner cut him off. "No amount of torture is going to break me, and I'm not going to talk."

"I know. So assuming CC is right about you, and you do indeed know exactly what she is..." Zero began as he removed his mask and activated the crimson light of Geass in his left eye. "You would know that this is the only chance you have before I do something far more horrible than any torture to you."

The prisoner was either too scared or too unconvinced to say anything in the next six seconds, the exactly amount of time it took Lelouch to lose his patience. He looked into the man's eyes.

"Obey." The Geass command entered the prisoner's mind, instantly crushing his free will. Glowing red rings around his eyes indicated that the power had taken effect.

"Who are you?" Lelouch asked his newly dominated subject.

"My name is Sir Edward Newell, OSI Special Activities Division Section 7." He answered without emotion.

"What is your mission?" Zero continued.

"To track down the last immortal not under our control and report the any relevant details that would have an effect on the outcome of a capture mission." Lelouch stood for a moment and let those details sink in, slightly shocked that they had managed to track CC to his otherwise well concealed base.

"Tell me about Section 7." Lelouch ordered.

"OSI Special Activities Division Section 7 is a hand picked unit formed to conduct field operations and reconnaissance for Code R. We operate outside of the regular OSI command structure and report directly to Code R." Newell replied.

"What is Code R and what does it have to do with CC?"

"Code R is a black program with the objective of capturing and analyzing the immortals not under Britannian control. Code R was created by Emperor Charles zi Britannia in 1997 with the assistance of the immortal VV. Since then, three of the four other immortals have been acquired. CC is the last remaining target, and has been by far the hardest to track." Newell revealed.

"And how did you manage to find her here?"

"After the death of Prince Clovis, we became aware of his highly secret Orange project, which in many ways closely resembles Code R. Everyone ever found to be a part of Orange was rounded up and thoroughly interrogated, revealing that CC's abduction from their custody by the resistance group that would evolve into the Black Knights was the real cause of the Battle of Shinjuku. From your reveal on live TV, it was clear that you had opened and modified the container she was being transported in. It was logical to assume that the Black Knights were either in possession of CC, or had information that could lead to her."

Lelouch glanced over at CC while Newell was talking. She seemed visibly worried, almost afraid of what he was going to say. But that wasn't going to stop him from extracting every last thread of information out of the prisoner.

"What does Code R intend to do with the immortals?" Lelouch continued.

"Code R researchers have been studying the properties of both Code and Geass since the first immortal was found by Section 7 operatives in 1999. Originally they were attempting to find ways to copy some of the effects of Code for practical applications, such as self regeneration of battlefield injuries. They were never successful in their efforts.

The focus of Code R was changed dramatically in 2009 when The Emperor's Geass reached a state of perfection." As those words entered his ears, Lelouch felt the icy touch of pure, unmitigated fear for the first time in years. "With the knowledge that a perfected Geass provides the ability to acquire a Code, Emperor Charles performed an experiment. He killed one of the other immortals and was successful in acquiring his Code, while also retaining his perfected Geass." Newell calmly spoke.

"No! That's not supposed to happen!" CC blurted out in shock at what she had just heard.

"What is not supposed to happen?" Lelouch turned to her, worried to see her so afraid.

"When you take a Code you are supposed to lose your Geass. I've only ever seen it happen four times, and they always took the Code of the immortal they formed a contract with. I didn't know it was even possible to take a different Code than the one that granted you Geass."

"Emperor Charles made his contract with VV, who is still very much alive. After becoming immortal by killing a different Code bearer, he then attempted to kill another to find out what would happen if one person possessed two Codes. He instead discovered that it is impossible to have two Codes, and the immortal regenerated as normal. The Emperor then directed Code R to begin work on a new research project, which I do not know the nature of." Newell further explained.

As terribly disturbing as this revelation was, Lelouch finally understood what his father's true intention was. By acquiring Geass, and then a Code, Charles had effectively become the most powerful being in the world. Exactly what any diehard Darwinist dictator would dream of.

"Stay there and be quiet." Lelouch ordered Newell as he put his mask back on. He grabbed CC by the arm and led her quickly out of the room, only pausing to order the guards outside to kill Newell if he attempted to speak.

* * *

Nine minutes later, Lelouch had CC alone in the main bedroom of their large mobile home, the door securely locked.

"Tell me everything, now." Lelouch commanded her in an angry tone.

"Lelouch..."

"That man just told me that my father is the closest thing to a god this world has ever known. He also told me that it is possible to kill an immortal. You said yourself that you have seen it done before. Tell me exactly how to do it."

"I didn't want to tell you how to do this." CC began.

"Why not? Afraid that I would someday betray you?"

"No. I was actually hoping for it." She said calmly, looking directly into his eyes.

"What?..." Lelouch was surprised.

"Lelouch, your end of our contract is to kill me. I wasn't going to tell you until you were ready, because I was afraid you would refuse. I haven't had a contract strong enough to perfect a Geass in three centuries, and I was praying that you would finally be the one to set me free." CC reluctantly revealed. "To answer your question, killing a Code is actually quite simple. Once your Geass manifests in both eyes, it is considered perfect. Then you just have to kill them while touching their mark." CC explained , tapping the red tattoo that re appeared at will on her forehead.

"I don't understand why you would want me to kill you."

"To free me from this curse. I'm immortal, Lelouch. Everyone I have ever loved; every friend I have ever had. I have had to watch them all die, knowing the whole time that there was nothing I could do to save them. It's torture beyond imagination. I just want it to end."

As Lelouch listened to her words, he remembered just how much it hurt when his mother was killed. Then he tried to imagine having to endure even a tenth as much suffering over and over again for fourteen centuries. No wonder CC felt immortality was like a curse.

Suddenly, Lelouch remembered one crucial detail of what the captured OSI agent had told him, and a plan appeared in his mind. A borderline insane, unbelievably risky, yet incredibly brilliant plan.

"You were right, CC. I'm not going to kill you." Lelouch replied after several seconds of silence. She said nothing, instead just looking back at him, her eyes pleading, almost begging the former prince to reconsider. "You don't want death. You want an escape from the endless cycle of suffering caused by being immortal in a mortal world. And you have always viewed permanent death as the only way out, am I right?" CC nodded yes. "You're right though, death is the only way for you to free yourself." Lelouch put his mask back on and got up to leave the room. "So let me free you my way instead."

* * *

Two hours later, Lelouch had assembled CC, Kallen, Euphemia, and Cornelia in the holding room with Sir Newell, who was still bound to a chair and had yet to make a sound.

"Who is that?" Kallen wondered.

"Sir Edward Newell, an elite OSI infiltrator." Lelouch informed them. "I have already extracted all the information I need from him. But before we begin, I have one question for all of you. A simple yes or no will do." Lelouch paused for a moment. "If I could offer you immortality, would you take it?"

"Immortal like her?" Cornelia asked, looking at CC. She still clearly remembered her getting back up as if nothing had happened after taking a bullet in the head. Lelouch nodded.

"Just like her. You will never age, and never stay dead for more than a couple hours at most. Your body will always regenerate back to the way you are now." Lelouch explained. The room became almost completely silent for about thirty seconds.

"I'll do it." Kallen was the first to volunteer. Another minute passed before Euphemia also agreed. Cornelia, unwilling to let her sister do it without her, also nodded.

"Very good. Now tell me, what is the number one reason great and powerful empires eventually collapse? Alexander the Great's empire for example." Lelouch asked them. Although the question was not actually directed at him, the Geass command forced Newell to respond.

"Because their great leaders eventually die, and their replacements are never strong enough to keep it together." The chained OSI man replied.

"Very correct, Sir Newell. And that brings us to the single greatest problem I have ever encountered. I have been informed that Charles zi Britannia has broken the rules and effectively found a way to cheat destiny."

"What do you mean by 'cheat destiny'?" Cornelia inquired.

"To put it bluntly, he has been immortal for eighteen years, among other supernatural abilities." Lelouch told them, and waited a few seconds for them to understand what he had just told them.

"What other powers does The Emperor have?" Kallen asked, the only one of the three aware of the existence of Geass. Lelouch thought about trying to explain it first, but decided it simply wasn't worth the trouble when he could just demonstrate instead.

"Sir Newell, what is the effect of the Emperor's Geass?" Lelouch asked with a brightly glowing left eye, to the shock of the princesses in the room.

"I do not know precisely what effect his power has." Newell answered truthfully. Lelouch walked over and pulled a key from his pocket before unlocking Newell's cuffs. He pulled a combat knife and, being watched by everyone else in the room, handed it to Newell, who took it by the blade.

"I do not need you anymore. Kill yourself." Lelouch ordered calmly.

"At once, your highness." Newell responded as he reversed his grip on the knife before jamming all seven inches of steel into his neck and pulling forcefully to the side, nearly decapitating himself. Cornelia and Euphemia stood wide eyed at seeing this man kill himself with literally zero hesitation and no consideration for the extreme pain such an action would cause. Only Kallen was not nearly as surprised, as she had witnessed Geass induced suicide before, and was aware of how absolute a command could be.

"What...the hell just happened?" Cornelia hesitantly asked, her eyes locked on the knife buried completely into Newell's neck. She became slightly paler upon looking up to see Lelouch's left eye radiating red light. He turned to face her.

"I told you that CC is immortal, not why she is immortal." He began to explain. "There are five supernatural powers known to exist in the world, called Codes. Whoever possesses a Code becomes immortal for as long as they have it. CC is one such Code bearer, along with our father and his ally VV."

"Every Code bearer has the ability to form a contract with an ordinary human, granting them the power of Geass. How Geass manifests itself is different in each person, and appears to be influenced by that person's strongest desire at the moment they acquire it." CC further explained, adding a detail that Lelouch did not know. She looked over at him. "What did you feel just before that moment, when Clovis's royal guardsmen were about to execute you."

"Anger and hatred because I no longer had control of my own destiny." Lelouch recalled.

"And so when you accepted our contract, your Geass became exactly what you most wanted in that moment. Absolute Obedience, the power to control anyone."

"You can force someone to kill themselves, just like that?" Euphemia asked her brother, a hint of fear in her voice.

"I can do so much more than that. You don't have to be afraid though, it only works once. No matter what order I give, it will not have any effect on either of you."

"What did you do to us with that power?" Cornelia demanded to know, her tone making it very clear that she was not amused at having been on the other end of Geass.

"Nothing harmful." Lelouch turned to Euphemia. "I commanded you to overcome your weakness during the hostage rescue at the Kawaguchi hotel. Without that limitation, Euphie, you chose a path that you would have been too afraid to pursue otherwise. When you stood up for Nina against armed JLF soldiers with only words, you proved to yourself that you had the potential to be something greater. All I did was open the door for you."

"As for you Cornelia, do you remember the day Alan Spacer walked into your office?" The former Viceroy remembered that event very well. After apparently blacking out, she knew exactly where to find the JLF's most elite unit of knightmare pilots, how to capture them, and where to send them. "I used my Geass and a disguise to manipulate exactly how you would capture Toudou, and exactly which cell to place him in at the Chiba prison. In doing so, I effectively set up the battle to secure his loyalty and capture you with one move." Lelouch truthfully explained, hoping that his sisters would not be too furious at being forcibly manipulated.

"There's clearly a reason you are telling us all this, Lelouch, and I know it's not out of a sudden desire to be honest. But first, I want proof that this ridiculous power of yours only works once." Cornelia caught on.

"Alright. Look into my left eye." Lelouch instructed, Geass still active. "Take your clothes off and start dancing for us." Cornelia blushed slightly, and was about to say something before Lelouch cut her off. "See, if it did work twice you would be unbuttoning your shirt right now."

"Of all the things you could have said..."

"What?" Lelouch replied with a smile. "Regardless of what they think of you, most of the world agrees that you are absolutely beautiful. But yes, there is a reason you are hearing this." Lelouch came back on topic.

"As you know, I intend to kill the Emperor. But by the time we reach that stage, it is not inconceivable for him to have multiple immortals and or Geass users defending him. There is only one way to kill a Code bearer, and I can only do it once. Therefore, I will need your help. The only way to kill a Code bearer is to take their code from them. This can only be accomplished by someone with a perfected Geass power that appears in both eyes, at which point they will become immortal themselves, and be unable to take a second Code." He paused for a moment to let them digest this information.

"To achieve complete victory, we will need four perfected Geass powers to kill the Emperor and the three Codes his allies will undoubtedly possess."

"And the five of us would become immortal." Kallen observed, excited at the prospect. As she finished saying this, CC suddenly understood what Lelouch meant earlier. He was going to give her something she had never thought possible, a family that she wouldn't have to watch time tear away from her. She smiled at the thought of the plan. Nobody else could come up with such an elegant solution.

"Correct. We could do more than just create a better world, we could make it last forever."

CC, easily figuring out what her immediate role in Lelouch's plan was, stepped in front of Kallen and held out her right hand.

"When you're ready, take my hand." She instructed. Kallen slowly reached forward, and life as she knew it suddenly changed forever.

* * *

Zero monitored the status of the transport convoy as he maneuvered his Gekka frame through the dark subway tunnels. Around him, 89 other knightmare frames of all types, all but four of the Black Knights' inventory, were also moving through the tunnels toward the operation start points just outside of Nerima.

The main Britannian force conducting Operation Wildfire had encircled the Nerima ghetto three hours earlier than expected, and primary combat operations had begun just over an hour later. Britannian infantry, armor, and knightmare units advanced into the ghetto under the cover of Shortsword air support. Inoue reported from her Naginata siege tank that the transports and their escorts were underground and ready to move.

Ten minutes later, Black knightmares began surfacing from five exit points just outside of Nerima. Zero called a ready check. One by one, every P, R, B, and N units all reported as ready for combat. Zero Squad, call sign Q, were all that was left.

Kallen took a deep breath and glanced at the custom Gekka and Gloucester next to her Guren. She looked into the reflection of the crimson light radiating from her left eye...and smiled.

"Q1 ready."


	16. Relocation

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

The Britannian Army units surrounding the Nerima ghetto area had been in combat against resistance units for nearly a week. During this time, their main opposition consisted of light infantry fighters, remote controlled car bombs, and a few old tanks hidden in the ruins. The majority of Japanese resistance units in and around the Tokyo area had been all but depleted of heavy armor and knightmare frames from years of conflict. What they did have was an abundance of brave and determined soldiers willing to die for the cause. But just as in the First Pacific War, bravery and determination were not proving to be an effective substitute for world class training and huge quantities of modern weapons and vehicles. The end result was that the Britannian Army was effortlessly demolishing all opposition with very few losses.

Based upon years of combat experience, Viceroy Secilia had employed her revised combined arms tactics with excellent results. Tanks and similar armored vehicles formed the solid core which mobile knightmare units operated around. The Britannian military was finally beginning to understand that knightmare frames were not the all encompassing wonder weapons they were originally touted to be, but an excellent addition to existing armored warfare, and Secilia was the first to build a set of new tactics to exploit this. Along with air support to find targets and provide supporting fire, every unit type covered each others' weaknesses like a medieval shield wall. The Japanese rebels had no way to effectively counter and were taking very heavy casualties.

Facing such a combat ineffective enemy had put the Britannian forces into a classic pitfall for powerful attacking armies. Overconfidence, magnified by their widespread racist view that they were inherently superior, came on strong. So when dozens of hostile knightmare frames, exponentially more combat power than anything they had faced over the last week combined, launched a brutal surprise attack from outside their containment line, the first units to make contact were simply evaporated as if they weren't even there.

Despite the raw power of the initial strike, Britannian forces were quick to regroup and mount an organized defense of the ghetto they had been attacking into only moments earlier. Following Zero's battle plan, the Black Knights did not attempt to smash through the newly forming defensive line, instead engaging from medium range and with cover. Believing their enemy to be hesitating, the Britannians launched a counter attack in an attempt to crush the assault.

* * *

On the other side of Nerima, Bradley would have jumped with excitement if he wasn't strapped into his cockpit. This was the moment he was waiting for, a chance to finally test the infamous Black Knights in combat. He turned his bone white and red spattered Gloucester away from the machine gun nest he was firing at, and sped right toward the unfolding battle.

Unfortunately for the Knight of Ten, his thirst for battle overpowered his tactical judgment, and he found himself taking an overwhelming volume of fire from six black Burai frames mere moments after reaching the edge of the battle space. Bradley activated his Gloucester's single Blaze Luminous shield and launched both of his slash harkens toward the top of a building to his left, all while doing his best to dodge or deflect most of the incoming rifle fire.

The slash harkens anchored effectively into the upper floor of the structure, and he retracted them at full power to gain a height advantage. As he was ascending to the rooftop, Bradley launched a chaos mine at the enemy knightmares down the road.

Because it was hard to distinguish from the chunks of falling debris knocked off by their rifles, the Black Knights in the road did not see the device until the casing split off as it prepared to fire. The initial charges activated and started a five second torrent consisting of hundreds of armor piercing stacked projectiles. Four Burais at the edge of the weapon's cone of fire took damage from multiple hits, but much like a shotgun blast, the individual projectiles were too small to cause significant destruction without a large volume of impacts.

He reached the top of the building and turned back to re engage from above, but saw the slightly damaged enemy knightmares retreating. Bradley laughed as he saw the Burais turn a corner and go out of sight at the end of the road. He thought they were running scared. What he would realize in about two seconds was that they were simply getting out of the way.

The Gloucester's impact alert went off, indicating that something was on a collision course at high speed from directly behind him. Bradley turned and just barely had enough time to bring his left arm's shield up before a huge metal claw with a glowing palm crashed into the green barrier at high speed. The force of the impact knocked his knightmare from the building's roof.

It was only then that he got a good look at the unit that had ambushed him. The Knight's eyes followed the claw, up the arm, and to the unique red frame behind it. He instantly recognized his attacker from the recorded footage of the battle at Chiba. The Black Knights' ace, armed with their most powerful knightmare frame. He suddenly remembered what the real function of that large silver claw arm was, but it was already too late to do anything about it.

The red light he saw in the weapon's palm suddenly exploded outward. The immense heat and radiation instantly popped his energy shield like a bubble in a bath tub, before burning into the left arm. Fortunately for Bradley, the force of two frames hitting the ground after a 40+ meter fall was enough to knock the enemy unit off him before the concentrated nuclear blast could melt through his left arm.

Bradley quickly drew the dual MVS blades his unit was equipped with, each sword glowing red as they activated. The Guren lunged forward, attempting to slash him with the claw. The Gloucester parried the attack with a sword, before trying to back out of range of the radiation surge weapon.

Seeking to buy time, Bradley fired his remaining two chaos mines and launched his slash harkens toward the Guren. He expected her to move back and evade the mines, but what happened next could only be described as unbelievable.

The Guren dodged both slash harkens and simultaneously caught both of the wires between the blades of her left hand's forked dagger, while firing a radiation surge at one of the chaos mines, effectively creating a shield that would vaporize the projectiles before they reached her frame. With both of the Gloucester's slash harkens captured, she reversed and pulled with the left arm with enough force to yank Bradley toward her.

The white and red Gloucester was pulled to her, just as the chaos mines' outer casings broke away. With her radiation surge blocking the second one, she dragged the Gloucester directly into the chaos mine's kill zone. Realizing what was about to happen, and facing certain destruction from his own weapon, Bradley desperately tried to use his MVS to sever the slash harken wires and escape the trap. His opponent had other ideas, however. The autocannon on the Guren's left wrist spit short bursts of fire as explosive shells quickly moved to prevent him from slashing the wire with flawless accuracy. Over a dozen rounds detonated on each of the Gloucester's hands in rapid succession, blasting the swords from his grip.

The chaos mines unleashed their barrage, and just as Kallen wanted, her Guren was protected by the continuous crimson explosion while Bradley's trapped Gloucester was shredded by hundreds of armor piercing projectiles. Out of options and taking critical damage, the Gloucester's cockpit block automatically ejected out of the rain of metallic death just seconds before the unit exploded.

* * *

Cornelia kept her Gloucester close behind the custom Gekka prototype in front of her as they moved into the shelled out ruins of a derelict office building. Before the battle, Euphemia had taken the prototype Gekka and gave her Gloucester with its English controls to her sister, who despite her best efforts was proving to be terrible at language learning. Euphemia's new knightmare was faster, stronger, and more agile than the older Gloucester, but lacked the Benowyc's powerful defensive measures and jump jets.

Regardless of her orders, Cornelia's first priority was to protect her sister. She suspected that Lelouch was aware of this when he changed the Zero Squad's command structure to a hierarchy, and placed her as the third member, under Euphemia's direct command.

From the north end of the building, a Panther tank and two Sutherlands were moving up the adjacent road, firing at distant targets the pair couldn't see from their position as they went. Euphemia's heated chain sword hummed to life as it activated. The weapon's teeth began to glow a bright orange with heat as they moved around the blade at high speed. Cornelia followed along and drew the right MVS from her shoulder.

"Take down the Sutherlands first." Euphemia instructed as they prepared to attack.

Euphemia's prototype Gekka burst forth from its concealed position just as the Britannian units were moving past. She brought up both of the knightmare's arms, and opened fire with the unit's twin wrist mounted rifles. A 2 to 3 mixture of armor piercing and high explosive 25mm shells quickly closed the distance. The Panther tank's 20mm turret mounted secondary gun was instantly destroyed as the streams of fire connected, before shifting onto the forward Sutherland.

The Gekka's cannons ripped through the enemy knightmare as she closed the gap to engage the tank at melee range. Cornelia's Gloucester followed closely behind her sister's attack, targeting the rear Sutherland. Her glowing red MVS broadsword slashed forward at the enemy knightmare, who attempted to block the attack with his lance. Unfortunately for him, the smaller silver colored lances provided to Sutherlands were inferior in every way to their larger golden colored counterparts. The MVS blade met resistance as it collided with the silver lance head, but the material quickly failed, allowing the sword to easily cut through the Sutherland's armor before detonating the Core Luminous with a large explosion.

She turned around just in time to see her sister's chain sword tear into the Panther's turret, killing the crew and rendering the severely damaged vehicle harmless. Even in its minimally equipped and unfinished state, Cornelia admired the effectiveness of the Gekka. To her knowledge, Britannia had no real plan to replace the Sutherland in the near future, instead focusing on the development of powerful experimental technologies. Unlike the Lancelot or Gawain, the Gekka was much more suited for mass production. She marveled at the thought that the Empire may actually lose its technological advantage on the battlefield for the first time in nearly a century. After all, a few ultra powerful experimental units would not be able to singlehandedly defeat entire armies by themselves.

The Gloucester followed the prototype Gekka away from the wrecks of their first three kills, into what appeared to be the decaying central courtyard of an old office park. Seven black Burai frames were retreating through the area, attempting to dodge incoming fire from four Panther tanks and five enemy Sutherlands that were slowly but steadily advancing forward. The two new arrivals rushed forward to attack the left flank of the enemy formation. Sensing an opportunity to put this new ability of hers to use, Cornelia's right eye lit up and bathed the Gloucester's cockpit in a faint crimson glow.

Just over 200 meters away from her Gloucester, the outgunned Black Knights felt the power of Absolute Inspiration wash over them. At this range, the effect was quite powerful. With new found confidence, they turned and launched a counter attack, sending bursts of HE and AP rounds streaking into the Britannian units as they advanced.

As the Sutherlands and the Panthers' secondary gunners attempted to fight off the Gekka and Gloucester at close range, the tanks turned their powerful 130mm main cannons on the Burais. Blasts of smoke and fire erupted from the ends of the five meter long weapons. Two of the Burai pilots managed to dodge the shells, but with the range quickly closing, two others hit their targets. One Burai took a direct hit in the waist, the shell's massive kinetic energy tearing it in half and forcing the pilot to eject. A second Burai was hit square in the chest, detonating the power supply and causing the frame to disintegrate in a violent explosion.

The Panthers attempted to reload, but they did not have the five seconds required to do so. The Burais were upon them, ripping through the tanks' weak spots at point blank range with slash harkens and a lance taken from a downed Sutherland.

Cornelia's Absolute Inspiration effect also touched her sister, who lashed forward at the nearest Sutherland with her chain sword. The Britannian knightmare's right arm was severed instantly by the vicious slash. Euphemia quickly pulled the KAR 25 rifle from the destroyed arm and unloaded on the damaged Sutherland, as well as the one behind it with a total of three combined streams of 25mm fire from close range. The devastating volume of accurate fire easily burned through their blue armor, forcing ejections from the pilots. She turned to fire upon the last Sutherland, but eased her finger from the trigger button as she saw the red glow of an MVS blade slice her target into three pieces.

They surveyed the status of the unit they had helped. Five Burais remained with various levels of combat damage. Two of them had sustained minor damage from enemy rifle rounds. Two other Burais were in worse shape, with damaged factspheres and inoperable light machine guns in addition to missing pieces of armor. The fifth was still standing, but barely operational. Its left arm had been completely blown off from just above the elbow, and large gashes were visible along the torso with the occasional electrical arc dancing across the gaps.

* * *

Zero observed the status of the battle from the cockpit of his Gekka, issuing orders and directing the flow of combat. His forces were taking some casualties, but had not suffered any major losses yet, likely due to the absence of many high end Britannian units. Kallen had engaged and forced an ejection from a white and red Gloucester with a skilled pilot, but it was currently unknown who had actually been behind the controls. The Four Holy Swords had also reported destroying three standard enemy Gloucesters in close combat, but it was clear that they were not the Glaston Knights. Neither Viceroy Secilia's Gawain or Suzaku's Lancelot had been sighted either, leading him to suspect that something out of the ordinary was happening.

He looked closer at the real time force deployment map and saw Q2 and Q3 assisting the P6 squad in cleaning up a group of Britannian knightmares and tanks. A spark of curiosity hit him, and Lelouch checked the data from Cornelia's Gloucester. The system showed him that she had multiple confirmed kills and over a dozen combat assists.

An unexpected priority alert on the Gekka's main display knocked him out of this train of thought. Three Black Knights' Burais in a forward elevated position had reported that the Gawain was inbound at high speed from central Tokyo. Zero used his Gekka's slash harken to reposition to a better vantage point on a nearby building. He looked southeast and saw the large black and gold knightmare flying toward Nerima, the six pronged flight unit on its back emitting a bright red glow.

Just as Zero finished ordering a missile strike on the Gawain, the Gekka's main screen pinged another alert, this time picked up by his unit's own sensors. A red marker appeared over the Viceroy's Palace at the top of the Britannian government building in the center of the city. A smaller window appeared over it and zoomed to 12x magnification, showing that the Avalon had taken off from the roof and was also inbound. Sensing that the situation was most likely about to get very bad very fast, Zero quickly checked the status of the transport convoy and saw that they were only four minutes out from their target distance.

* * *

Zero's assessment had been spot on. Instead of being on the front lines, the Viceroy was instead occupied with business at the palace. When the initial reports of massive enemy contact started flooding in, she was sitting in a meeting with a dozen government officials and Prime Minister Schneizel. When an officer interrupted their arguing to inform her of the attack, she was visibly furious at being denied the chance to fight her real enemy because of politics. She got up and ran out of the room and toward the elevator to the roof at blazing speed, plowing right through an unlucky servant that happened to be in her way.

Schneizel decided to follow her, although not nearly as fast, figuring that this would be an excellent opportunity to give the Avalon a field test under real combat conditions. He radioed the crew and ordered them to prepare the airship for combat as he also left the room, and the angry government officials, behind. He arrived at the garden on the roof a full three minutes later to board his airship.

By the time the Avalon was taking off, Secilia's Gawain was already approaching the battle. She immediately took control of the situation, fully utilizing her knightmare's powerful command and control systems. Despite suffering heavy initial losses from the Black Knights' surprise attack, Suzaku had managed to effectively stabilize the battle to form a defensive line, and then he attempted to counter attack. She took a moment to admire the man's natural talent for warfare. Most other Britannian commanders would have crumbled under the devastating sneak attack, but Suzaku had managed to hold the line, although just barely. Even though he was technically losing before she assumed command, the fact that he had risen from being just another Number to leading a Britannian army in battle with moderate effectiveness was a truely extraordinary accomplishment.

Her mind snapped back to the battle at hand as her knightmare flew over friendly forces and directly toward the enemy. The Viceroy immediately came under fire from three Burai frames on the street below, two hugging the buildings with the last one in the center of the road as they fired their rifles skyward. Secilia attached the Gawain's five right hand finger slash harkens to a set of slots at the bottom of her scythe's shaft. She twisted the right arm back, before swinging it downward and firing all five slash harkens simultaneously. The glowing red MVS scythe rocketed down toward the ground at high speed. The huge weapon came flying down the middle of the street street toward the center knightmare, blade first. The scythe blade sliced clean through the left half of the Burai, forcing an ejection just a second before the frame exploded.

As the scythe was pulled back into place by the five retracting slash harken tethers, the Gawain's shoulders split open to reveal the glow of fully charged Hadron Cannons. Just as she was about to fire at the two remaining Burais in the road below, missile lock alerts blared through the unit's large cockpit.

A kilometer to the north, several more enemy knightmares had launched a volley of Archer surface to air missiles at her airborne unit from the top of a derelict tower. Faced with the prospect of being shot down by the ten rapidly closing missiles, she turned the Hadron Cannons on them instead, launching twin beams of superheated plasma to intercept. She manually guided the beams over the paths of the Archers, the extreme heat evaporating them without detonations.

* * *

Four kilometers behind the Gawain, Prime Minister Schneizel saw the missiles launch from the bridge of the Avalon. He turned to the airship's primary weapons operator.

"Charge the Avalon's main cannon and fire a shot at full power. Target that building's fifth floor on the east side and bring it down." Schneizel ordered calmly.

"At once, your highness!" The finely dressed officer happily replied, eager to actually fire the massive weapon she had spent the last three months training to operate. She entered a simple firing solution as the capacitors reached 100% charge. Electricity arced through the Avalon's massive forward railgun as it prepared to fire. She looked back at the Prime Minister with a smile, her finger hovering near her joystick's trigger. Schneizel nodded and weapons operator held down the red safety button and squeezed the trigger.

With an effective range in excess of 300 kilometers, the destructive power of a 310mm railgun with a 23 meter long barrel at a distance just short of five kilometers was nothing short of incredible. A huge blast of blindingly bright plasma erupted from the front of the weapon, accompanied by a deafening hypersonic scream as the ultra hardened projectile lanced forward with barely imaginable speed. The shot left a faintly visible trail of plasma behind it as it slammed into the lower section of the tower with enough kinetic energy to literally disintegrate three floors in either direction from the point of impact with a massive explosion. As the building crumbled, the Black Knights' units near the top scrambled to escape their impending doom. Two of the Burais managed to jump to safety with the assistance of their slash harkens to adjacent buildings. The remaining three pilots simply ejected, seeing no other way out.

The extreme sound and vibration generated by the Avalon's railgun and its effect on target could be clearly felt on the other side of Tokyo. If there was anyone in the city that did not know that a battle was underway, they certainly did now.

The railgun shot did exactly what Schneizel had intended. The entire tower came crashing down to earth, spawning a huge cloud of dust and debris that washed over the immediate area. But it was not enough to conceal where the remaining two knightmares had jumped over to. Slots on the top of the Avalon slid open to reveal four turrets, each equipped with three cylindrical rocket pods. They turned and unleashed a hellish high explosive barrage on the two adjacent buildings, showering the roofs and upper floors with dozens of unguided rockets.

The crew of the Avalon tried to confirm if they had hit their targets, but the Black Knights appeared to have slipped away before the volley impacted. Reports then started coming in from all across the ghetto that the enemy were breaking contact and retreating to the west.

"Why are they running? They still had plenty of strength left." Suzaku's image appeared on one of the Avalon's communication screens, next to the Viceroy's.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Kururugi. I've never seen them deploy so many knightmares in one place before. I'm surprised that we managed to win that fight so quickly." She observed.

"It is only a tactical victory." Schneizel added. "Whatever Zero's true intentions were, I doubt that decisively defeating us was one of his objectives. The Black Knights launched a surprise attack, inflicted significant casualties on our forces, and then executed a well organized retreat while losing few of their own units. The strategic victory is certainly theirs."

"Regardless of their intentions, we should be thanking you Suzaku. Had you not been able to rally our forces and form an organized defense, Zero would certainly have routed us." Secilia spoke as she turned her blue eyes to him.

"No, Excellency, we took far too many unnecessary casualties from their assault." Suzaku replied, a lingering feeling of failure hanging over him.

"You held an attack that we were completely unprepared for when it mattered most. Had you failed, and believe me when I say that most Britannian commanders would have under those circumstances, there would be at least an extra zero on the end of our casualty figure." She paused for a moment before changing her tone to something that sounded more like a helpful teacher than a battlefield commander. "It is inevitable that while commanding an army in battle you will give orders that send good soldiers to their deaths. What you need to understand is the difference between lives spent and lives wasted. Ask yourself if the outcome was worth the number of people that died to obtain it for you. I believe that what you called unnecessary casualties today were in fact necessary sacrifices."

"I understand, Viceroy. I will keep that in mind the next time I have to make such a decision."

* * *

Several hours after the Black Knights broke contact at the ghetto's border, the remaining operational knightmares were coming up the road that led into the now abandoned town that had been partially destroyed during the Battle of Narita. The JLF had forcibly evacuated the area about a week before the Britannian assault, and very few decided to return afterward.

From atop one of the rooftops, a Black Knights recon team reported the units' arrival. Inside the base, teams moved to activate the two operational external elevators that remained from the original six.

When the trucks, tanks, and four Burais first arrived, they found the installation in the same conditions that Toudou had reported previously. Most of the external defenses and four of the base's external elevators had been destroyed or rendered inoperable along with the JLF units manning them. The base's core interior sections were in better shape, but still required some work. The JLF had attempted to destroy what sensitive equipment they couldn't take with them in the aftermath of the battle, and those systems that remained needed to be repaired.

One of the three underground power generators in the mountain fortress was also damaged. So while the main base and the two large interior hangars were still functional, the doors that led into the tunnel network beneath the mountain were disabled, along with the tunnels' lighting and ventilation systems. But even without the use of the tunnels, the Black Knights were now in possession of a lot of secure space and real military facilities that included purpose built firing ranges, barracks, and proper ordinance storage areas.

Zero began to understand how the JLF managed to wage a war from this location for years as his Gekka rolled into hangar A alongside all the other assorted combat vehicles and transports with plenty of room to spare. There was no way to grasp the scale of the installation from the mountain's exterior, as the base extended much farther underground. He was already thinking of ways to put this area to use as the last knightmares rolled in.

The Black Knights began to take stock of their losses at the edge of Tokyo. Sixteen frames and twelve pilots had been lost during the engagement, with another 31 knightmares sustaining various levels of damage, some beyond repair. The losses were unfortunate, but not unexpected considering the size of the enemy force they had engaged. Maintenance crews were already at work sorting the frames for repairs, moving them through the connecting tunnel to the second hangar where they had an area allocated for maintenance work.

* * *

Near the repair area, Rakshata had put her assistants to work setting up their own research and development corner. She had a number of projects to work on now that they were in a more stable location. First and foremost, the scientist wanted to complete the design of her flight system upgrade for the Gekka.

Similar to the Camelot designed float unit installed on the Viceroy's Gawain, the new design was basically a directed plasma engine with magnetically vectored thrust. While conventional magnetic field generation technology could shape and accelerate the plasma generated by the unit, it was not precise enough for flight. But the technology inside a Blaze Luminous shield generator already did almost exactly what she needed. Before she could begin on any of this, she would need the combat data from her prototype, and access to a functional energy shield generator, which meant finding Euphemia and Cornelia. She set off to look for the royal sisters, and more importantly their knightmare frames, leaving her technicians to finish setting up their equipment.

Twenty minutes later, Rakshata had lured them both to her section of the hangar. As soon as the Gekka prototype's cockpit opened, the technicians wasted no time attaching an array of wires to the central console. Euphemia roped down the other side of the machine to find the impatient Indian scientist waiting for her.

"My assistants can collect the Gekka's operational and combat data, but I need your help while they do. After all, even my brilliant designs are worthless without a suitable pilot."

* * *

"Earlier this week, European forces attempted to open a second front in Spain by bypassing our front line in the Pyrenees through an ambitious amphibious landing." General Simmons began to explain as he pulled up a map of northern Spain on the large touchscreen at the front of the room. "The EU landed two divisions across a four kilometer area and proceeded to push another two kilometers inland before our rapid reaction knightmare units, along with supporting air power, stopped their advance. Nine hours later, ships of the Second Fleet circled around the peninsula and engaged the landing force from behind. Faced with the risk of being cut off, EU forces quickly retreated, abandoning much of their hardware in the process." Simmons enlarged several photos showing dozens of abandoned Leopard tanks, Panzer Hummel knightmare frames, and a few mobile artillery and air defense vehicles.

Although he was doing his best not to show it, Simmons was very worried. Being chosen to provide the Emperor with regular military status updates was one of the most stressful jobs imaginable. So when a man wearing a black uniform he had never seen before walked into the room and proceeded to interrupt him, Simmons felt like an anvil had been taken off his chest. After the initial feeling of relief, he began to wonder who this person was. A quick glance around the room revealed that only the Emperor appeared to know. The man whispered something to the Emperor, who then got up.

"All of you stay here, I have an urgent matter to attend to. We will continue this afterwards. " Emperor Charles instructed the various military personnel in the room as he followed the mysterious man out of the room.

The man leading the Emperor out of the room was known as William Black. He was a mystery in many ways. As the head of OSI Section 7, he did not officially exist. Every record of his past had been systematically erased over the course of his career with Section 7. Even the name William Black was something he had chosen for himself, his birth name having been long since wiped from history.

"In here, Your Majesty. I have had this room throughly secured." Black said as they approached the seemingly ordinary room 127 in the same hallway. Emperor Charles stepped inside to see four other armed Section 7 agents manning an array of powerful jamming and electronic countermeasure equipment.

"Now what is so important that you had to come and interrupt our meeting, William?"

"Allow me to explain, Your Majesty. After we acquired the details of Clovis's Orange project, we used that as a starting point as we attempted to find CC. Back in August Clovis ordered that CC be transferred to a research facility outside of Tokyo. The container she was locked inside was marked as a chemical weapon. The vehicle transporting it was hijacked by a small group of Eleven terrorists which resulted in the Battle of Shinjuku, Zero's first known appearance. The terrorists that stole the gas capsule are known now be the core members of the Black Knights. Later, when Zero made his first public appearance to free Sir Kururugi, the same capsule was used to dispense a harmless colored smoke screen. Somewhere between Shinjuku and then they opened the capsule and discovered CC.

On the assumption that she was either still with the Black Knights, or they had information that could lead us to her, we sent an infiltrator to penetrate their operations. He was discovered and killed less than thirty six hours after arriving. Based upon the facts we have, it is almost certain that CC is among the Black Knights' leadership, with a strong possibility that she is Zero." Black explained in detail.

"Are you certain? Zero definitely appears to be male." Charles asked, recalling images from the exchange on the highway.

"While there is no way to be completely sure without actually seeing through that mask, I would bet my life that our analysis is extremely close to the truth. Her known height is very close to Zero's, and it would not be very difficult for a woman of her build to disguise her gender specific features. Voice altering devices of the grade Zero uses are also easily obtainable."

"This is troubling. If she is able to build a powerful army, and arm it with Geass..." Charles pondered the possibility.

"The Black Knights have already proven themselves capable of defeating our forces in battles of their choosing. And as her latest operation has proven, the Knight of Two lacks sufficient forces to force the Black Knights into battle on our terms. She simply does not have nearly enough troops to sweep Area 11 for their bases without taking crippling damage from their sneak attacks." Black informed the Emperor.

"What do we have deployed in Area 11 now?"

"Approximately 50,000 troops spread around the islands, around 30,000 in the Tokyo area. There are no accurate figures of the Black Knights' strength, but our latest estimate is between three and seven thousand, and they are known to possess upwards of ninety knightmare frames. Including several apparently custom built units that meet or exceed the performance of our own seventh generation frames." Black assessed.

"We need to capture her before this gets out of hand. There's no telling how much damage that witch could do if left to run free."

"What will you do, Your Majesty?"

"Our spring offensive in Europe will have to wait. CC is to be our top priority. Once we acquire her Code, everything else is only a matter of time." Charles announced decisively.

* * *

It had been only three days since the Black Knights arrived to reoccupy the Narita mountain fortress, and they had already had most of the installation up and running. The base's command center had been repaired and brought back online. The room was a flurry of activity and dozens of uniformed Black Knights personnel worked on the consoles, delivered reports, and rushed to fetch more coffee for their superiors. At the front of the room, near the largest screen, Zero sat in the same chair that General Katase commanded from during the battle. Instead of shouting orders left and right as Katase undoubtedly had been, he was silent.

On the table in front of him sat several large maps of central Japan and the Tokyo area. Zero was hard at work putting dozens of red and blue lines across the large sheets, planning potential targets, attack paths, and estimated enemy responses. Of particular interest on the larger area map was a Britannian Airforce base far to the west of Tokyo.

Originally built as a civilian airport before the war, Noto Airbase was one of many taken over and heavily upgraded by the Britannian military. Noto was now the Britannian Airforce's primary staging area to project power over the Sea of Japan as a deterrent against a Chinese attack. The area surrounding the base had lost most of its population in recent years, and there had been practically no rebel activity in the area for years. A perfect target. Zero began outlining an attack plan to seize the base.

"Zero! We got the third generator repaired and restored power to the tunnels. You're not going to believe what we found down there." Kallen interrupted him as she rushed over. Zero looked up from the table full of maps. " There's 14 Burais and 43 Type 10 tanks in a service area down in one of the large caverns. It looks like the JLF were doing repairs and upgrades on them when they were forced to abandon the base." Kallen reported with excitement.

"What condition are they in?" Was Zero's first response, amazed at the find.

"Everything down there is in various states of disassembly, I don't think any of them are operational as we found them. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem to put them back together."

"Just how big is that tunnel network?" Zero asked.

"We don't know yet. The search teams were still going off in three other directions when I came back up. Who knows what else we might find down there."

"This is closer to perfect than I could have hoped for. We can assemble an entire army's worth of equipment down there without having to worry about Britannian spy planes."

"Would that be for whatever those plans are?" Kallen wondered as she took a closer look at the map on top.

"While we have found quite a bit of success so far, in the grand scheme of things all we really have accomplished is giving Britannia a mild headache. Hit and run attacks can wear down Britannian forces, but it will not break them. We need to achieve a decisive strategic victory to liberate Japan, and ultimately bring us closer to our true goal. All of these tactical successes will add up to little if we are never able to take ground and hold it." Zero explained.

"That's a map of Tokyo..." Kallen said. Even though the concept should have been obvious, actually seeing an outline of a real battle plan to take Tokyo from Britannia was incredible.

"These plans are going to change drastically before it is possible. We don't have nearly enough forces to seize the capital at the moment. But this base is large enough to assemble a sufficiently powerful army in secret. Once we are strong enough, I have no doubt that we can win. I believe the Japanese want to take this country back much more than the Britannians want to hold on to it. But Britannia did not conquer a third of the world through weakness. They will not give up Japan without a fight."

"I can understand the number of troops, but where are we going to get enough hardware to wage open war?" Kallen wondered.

* * *

"So how do you like your new powers?" CC asked the four sitting at the table behind her as she plopped down on the bed .

"It's...incredible." Kallen spoke as her mind replayed the fight with the white Gloucester. "It felt like everything but me was in slow motion. I could see and hear every little detail so clearly...and my reactions felt almost instant. The Gloucester pilot I fought was very good, and I forced him to eject in under 30 seconds when I activated my Geass.

"Does it feel natural when you activate your Geass?" CC asked them, dangling her head off the edge of the bed and looking at them upside down as her green hair fell to the floor.

"As if I was born with it." Lelouch replied, the memories of the tunnel exit in a Shinjuku warehouse freshly resurfaced.

"I thought you said that the Geass power is a reflection of your strongest desire." Cornelia questioned the immortal. "So why then did I get an ability that makes me a better soldier, instead of something I can use to protect my sister?" Euphemia turned to at her with a 'I'm not a fragile little girl anymore' look.

"Nobody can predict what kind of power Geass grants you with certainty. What I said was just an observation from hundreds of years of experience."

"Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way." Lelouch suggested. "Instead of wanting to protect Euphie, maybe you actually wanted to help her instead. I see a large amount of synergy between your two abilities, and I doubt that is just a coincidence. Take some time and try to develop some tactics that include Geass."

"That's a very good idea actually. My Geass can empower our troops, and Euphie can use her's to help coordinate their attacks." Cornelia noted.

* * *

Miles away, a Britannian heavy transport aircraft lowered its four VTOL capable thruster blocks to put down atop the main government building's rooftop landing pad. As the transport made contact with the landing pad, the twelve stealth fighters escorting it broke off to land at Starlight Field to the north. Numerous Royal Guard infantry units had already lined up before the transport's main ramp as it lowered. At the bottom of the ramp, William Black stepped off the plane and onto Area Eleven for the first time.

* * *

A Royal Guardsman entered the meeting room, interrupting Viceroy Secilia as she briefed a group of assembled staff and politicians on the latest Britannian advances against rebellious Japanese forces in the ghettos surrounding Tokyo.

"Your Excellency, a transport has just landed on the roof carrying an OSI director, he requests your immediate attention on the landing pad."

"Did he say anything else?" Secilia questioned the soldier.

"Just that he is here under the direct orders of the Emperor, and that he needs to see you in person." She quickly directed a few subordinates to finish the briefing before leaving the room in the direction of the elevator.

Minutes later, the Viceroy arrived on the roof near the landing pad. The aircraft and the OSI man were there, just as the soldier had said, but it was clear that something was different about them. The transport aircraft was smaller than the military transports she was used to. Many of the flat surfaces had been replaced with angles, and the entire aircraft was coated in black radar absorbing material.

There was something off about the OSI director as well. He was wearing the right uniform, but she did not recognize him. Secilia was certain that she had met almost all of the directors throughout the span of her military career. He did not look particularly friendly as she approached.

"Viceroy Secilia, this way please. My transport has been heavily modified to prevent eavesdropping, and you are the only person I have been ordered to brief." The director turned and began walking back up the ramp. She followed him up into the belly of the plane.

"Why was I not contacted by Lorenzo about this visit? He is supposed to inform me when things like this are going to happen." She asked.

"His security clearance is not high enough to know that I was coming. For the record, neither is yours, but His Majesty gave me clear instructions about what to tell you."

"And just who are you? There are very few people that can outrank OSI directors and Knights of Rounds in such a way."

"Forgive me, Viceroy. My name is William Black, director of OSI Section Seven. If you've never heard to me, or Section Seven, then people are doing their jobs right. Section Seven, and myself, officially do not exist." Black informed her.

"So why are you here then?"

"Straight to the point, good. Section Seven has uncovered some very disturbing information regarding the Black Knights, and their mysterious leader. Based on our investigation, we have determined with a high degree of certainty that Zero is in fact this woman." Black told her as he pulled a picture of CC from his uniform's pocket. "This image was taken by a research team under Prince Clovis three years ago during the time she was secretly in captivity under his Orange project.." He handed Secilia the photo of CC bound in a straight jacket and strapped to a chair, surrounded by three lab technicians and a man with a large needle. "Her escape was the direct cause of the Shinjuku incident, and almost certainly the death of Prince Clovis."

"Who is she?"

"The only name we know her by is CC. She is in possession of information of the most sensitive nature. Assuming we are right, this means the the Black Knights are in possession of a weapon of unimaginable power. The Emperor wishes that you capture her dead or alive before the rebels can activate this weapon. You are to spare no expense to make this happen." Black explained.

"What sort of weapon are we talking about?" Secilia wondered.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you the details. His Majesty directly controls the release of that information. But I can tell you that it is a direct threat to the very survival of our empire. Capturing her is to be your first priority. Nothing else matters until we have her."

"How am I supposed to find her? The Black Knights have proven to be incredibly elusive. We have spent the last month trying to force them into the open, and now you're asking me to capture their leader."

"His Majesty understands the difficulty of this mission. Therefore he has decided to suspend all offensive operations in Western Europe and redeploy the 7th Army to Area 11." Black revealed, giving it a few seconds to sink in.

"The entire 7th Army? That's a quarter of a million troops..." Secilia awed at the prospect of having five times more forces at her disposal.

"Then I trust that you will have no difficulty smashing this rebellion with such a force?" Black asked.

Secilia looked him in the eyes and smiled. "They're as good as dead already."

* * *

Icy uses Wall of Text. It's super effective!: The battle that starts this chapter was originally supposed to be at the end of the last one, but I decided to wait until I felt I thought through the new Geass powers enough. I've seen too many good stories fall apart because overpowered magic. That said, adding some magic can be absolutely awesome when done right. The goal here is to keep it balanced and interesting.

I like to think that Lelouch's Absolute Obedience is a good example of a well balanced power. Potentially devastating when it works, but loaded with enough limitations to make it a powerful weapon, not a godmode cheat.

Cornelia: Absolute Inspiration. Motivates and inspires everyone Cornelia perceives to be her allies(does not include herself) within a variable radius out to 1 kilometer. The power of the effect varies greatly with the range, which is controllable. At point blank range under 20m, the effect is immensely powerful, causing those under its effects to fight with a level of ferocity and determination almost unheard of otherwise. At between 800m and 1km, the effect is barely perceptible. The effect is uniform across the entire radius. Ex. When set to 1km, Absolute Inspiration does almost nothing regardless of how close to Cornelia you are. (Think of a limited volume of gas being expanded or compressed.)

Euphemia: Absolute Unity. Euphemia's Geass is also an area of effect ability that functions almost identically to Absolute Inspiration, but with a very different effect. Those affected by Absolute Unity become linked to Euphemia's conciousness. They then feel her emotions and develop an urge to carry out her will. Barely perceptible at ranges further than 600 meters, the effect steadily intensifies as Euphemia shortens the radius. When set to just a few feet, the effect of Absolute Unity becomes nearly irresistible, and can rival Lelouch's Absolute Obedience at point blank range. This power can be used to either help or harm people as Euphemia sees fit.

Kallen: Absolute Perception. Kallen can activate her Geass to put herself in a state of sensory overdrive. This effectively triples the sensitivity, clarity, and power of all of her senses and mental functions (including reaction time). Absolute Perception is similar to Rolo's canon Geass in that it is extremely hard to maintain the effect, becoming nearly impossible to keep it running continuously for over a minute. This effectively allows Kallen to trigger short bursts of superhuman ability and awareness.

Every Geass power develops with use until the power reaches perfection, if its owner remains alive that long. They all become either easier to use or more powerful as they develop, but also harder to control. Geass Runaway occurs when the Geass user loses all control over their power. If it reaches perfection, they will regain control, but this almost never happens because Geass Runaway tends to cause a severe mental breakdown, and almost always results in the Geass user dying for some reason first. Geass Runaway is not destined to happen in every Geass user. Instead, it is determined by the strength of the individual's willpower to maintain control.

Quite a few people have asked in reviews and messages about where Nunnally is. The short answer is that she's under Sayoko's protection in rural Hokkaido, far away from the escalating conflict. The long answer is that I simply cannot find a real role for her as a part of the revolution. She is fragile and disabled, making a combat role practically impossible without some kind of magic cure. She couldn't have been one of the five with Geass either, due to the way Lelouch views her. The whole point of his plan is to use Geass as a weapon to achieve final victory by killing the Emperor and his immortal allies. The last thing he would do is knowingly put Nunnally in a combat situation. However, I will still try to find a place for her before the end.

Thanks to everyone that sent in suggestions, I did read them all.


	17. You Know My Name

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

The last remnants of the Japanese resistance groups in the Tokyo area had taken terrible, terrible damage from the Britannian onslaught against the ghettos in the west. Their ragtag assembly of infantry fighters and light vehicles had proven unable to even slow down the enemy advance. After the Black Knights tore into Nerima, inflicting more damage on Britannian forces in under an hour than everyone else had in the past week, many of the remaining independent resistance forces offered to join up with the Black Knights. Zero was quick to accept.

With almost a third of their remaining forces having abandoned them, the leaders of the resistance made the difficult decision to abandon the northern section of Tokyo and concentrate all of their remaining forces to the east in the Edogawa area, which they expected to be the final area Britannia would attack as part of Operation Wildfire.

They stood back and watched as Britannian combat units swept through Kita, Adachi, and Katsushika with literally no resistance. Behind the troops, tanks, and knightmare frames came legions of military engineers and civilian contractors to demolish the crumbling ruins of old Tokyo and begin clearing out the debris in preparation for an expansion of the Britannian city.

As the seemingly unstoppable Britannian army began massing on the northern edge of the Edogawa ghetto, the resistance deployed absolutely everything they had left in preparation for their last stand. Hundreds of infantry fighters, some armed with weapons so old they could have been museum exhibits. Twenty one aging Type 90 tanks, three Glasgows, and a dozen civilian construction knightmares armed with captured KAR 25 assault rifles.

Standing opposed to them was the Britannian military machine. Thousands of well trained troops equipped with state of the art weapons, armor, and electronics, 124 Sutherland knightmare frames, and over three hundred modern armored vehicles to back them up. This was the army that had conquered over a third of the planet without much difficulty. Only the European Union had a military that could hold the line against this level of combat power. The resistance more or less knew they had no chance of victory, but they honestly did not care. The men and women assembled in Edogawa were the diehards and the veterans, those who would rather die fighting to preserve the memory of a free Japan than even consider the idea of surrendering. All they could do now was wait for their inevitable fate to come for them.

* * *

Lelouch smiled behind his Zero mask as he saw the expression on Kirihara's face through the video feed in the Narita base's control room.

"Could you repeat that?" The head of the Kyoto Group asked, clearly not having absorbed the enormity of Zero's request.

"I need to acquire at least twenty Britannian Airforce flight simulators for the FA120 Tempest."He repeated to Kirihara. "I have already secured simulator units for other aircraft, but being the Empire's state of the art air supremacy fighter, simulators for the Tempest are almost impossible to find on the black markets."

"If you're looking for simulators that means you must have found some way to get your hands on the actual fighters. Don't they have built in simulator software like the majority of their aircraft?"

"Of course they do, and I would use them if I physically had a wing of FA120s down in the hangar. I'm actually planning to steal them, but to do that I'm going to need a unit of trained pilots." Zero replied through the screen.

"Very well, I'll see what I can do for you. This plan of yours sounds interesting already. The rest of it should be ready by the end of the month." Kirihara finished, referring to the large quantity of knightmare frames and armored vehicles Zero had requested at the beginning of their conversation.

* * *

"How was school today?"Shirley's father asked her as he opened the door to her dorm room, his long grey raincoat still wet from the relentless storm outside.

"Great! I think I ace'd my History exam this morning." She replied in her usual cheerful voice.

"Wonderful. Now go get your coat. The show starts in just over an hour and it's still pouring out there." He told Shirley, holding up a pair of tickets and smiling.

Shirley turned around and started fumbling through her closet to find a waterproof coat. She heard the door open behind her, followed by a distinctive metallic click. She turned around to see Lelouch, dressed as Zero without a mask, holding a Britannian military issue pistol, the visible laser sight settled on her father's chest.

Shirley stood in stunned silence as he pulled the trigger. One, two, and then a third shot hit her father in the chest from less than two meters, spraying blood over his killer. As the man fell, Lelouch turned to her, covered in blood. He slowly raised the weapon, the laser dot hovering over her heart. Shirley barely had time to hear one final bang.

* * *

The second the trigger was pulled, Shirley jolted awake, instantly sitting up in the dark. She was sweaty and breathing heavily as her freshly awakened eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of what she had just seen.

But the room was just as she had left it five hours earlier. There was no blood, no spent pistol rounds, no dead body, and no Lelouch. It took her mind almost five minutes to realize that it wasn't real, and for the crippling level of fear to diminish.

As hard as she tried to push it away, she could not get the image of Lelouch killing her father out of her mind, as she knew it was at least partially true. He may not have pulled the trigger himself, but he was still the reason her father was gone.

A few tears rolled down her face as she tried to shake it off. Shirley fought hard to control the storm of emotions that she was feeling. Fear and disbelief soon evolved into anger, and then into betrayal. The fact that it was caused by someone that she had once felt the beginnings of love for only worked to amplify the pain. She briefly wondered if this is what Lelouch felt when his mother was shot down mere inches from him.

Her heart told her that it probably was, and in that moment she felt that she understood him far more than she ever had before. Shirley had a glimpse of just how powerful of a motivator loss could be. After all, it drove Lelouch to kill his own brother and start a war against the nation led by his own family.

The more she thought about it, the worse it became. The thought that her good father did not deserve to die grew stronger, and she looked out her dorm window toward central Tokyo. As she did, Shirley received her first visit from Lelouch vi Britannia's most faithful companion. Pure, unmitigated hate.

* * *

Suzaku stood around the hologram table alongside the Viceroy and four other Britannian generals. The command center of this G1 mobile base had been sealed, and the armor lowered around the windows, effectively sealing off the room from the outside world.

The need for secrecy was still important. The massive upcoming force redeployment had not yet been made public knowledge, and with the first wave of troops not due until the first week of December, Viceroy Secilia did not want to give the Black Knights a chance to find out about it until it would be too late.

"What I am about to tell the five of you cannot under any circumstances be repeated unless I order you to, understood?" All five voices replied "Yes, Excellency." in unison. "Five days ago I was contacted by OSI Section Seven, an exceptionally secret branch that operates outside of the formal command structure. The director of Section Seven relayed to me a set of orders from His Majesty that completely changes everything. Next week it will be announced that all offensive operations in Western Europe are to be suspended indefinitely, and that the 7th Army will be transferred to Area 11. They will be rotated out of their European positions 20% at a time. The first fifty thousand troops are scheduled to depart from Spain in a few hours." Secilia paused for a moment to let her subordinates absorb this revelation. "Area 11 has become the Emperor's primary focus, and the Black Knights have been deemed the highest threat to the security of the Empire." The Viceroy tapped a button on the holo table in front of her and a copy of the picture William Black had given her appeared on the G1 command center's big screen. "The OSI has informed me that they believe this woman to be Zero, cleverly hiding behind an outwardly male persona. From the limited information I was given, she is known to possess information that would allow the Black Knights access to some kind of powerful superweapon. Our new mission is to capture her dead or alive. To this end we have effectively been given a blank check to destroy the Black Knights by any means necessary."

"Do we have any information on the superweapon the Black Knights are supposed to have?" General Adelbern questioned.

"Unfortunately not. If there is any such information, we do not have access to it. But judging from how it was described, it is a significant threat." The Viceroy answered.

"The first shipment of troops should be arriving in about a week." Secilia hit a few more buttons on the holo table and brought up a map of the Tokyo area. Several red squares then appeared on the map, all of them opposite of Tokyo on the other side of the bay. "These are areas that will be converted into new bases for the 7th Army. Construction is to begin immediately so that we can provide a seamless integration of the new forces into Area 11. I have already begun to construct a new strategic plan to cleanse all resistance from the main islands with overwhelming power once all of our forces are in place. Until then, our priorities are the completion of Operation Wildfire and protecting our assets from future hit and run attacks." She turned to the left side of the table. "Kururugi, starting now you will be back on the front lines with the Lancelot."

* * *

Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia stepped out the front door and began to descend the seven steps leading back down to the street. He had just spent the last five hours in an extravagant hotel room with fifteen of Area 11's most powerful and influential business leaders discussing possible government strategies to increase the Area's economic growth from its painfully low average of just 0.79%

As he exited the building, he was met by a group of about 40 protestors that were demonstrating against a variety of different issues. This was no concern to the Prime Minister however, as a dozen heavily armed Royal Guardsmen stood on either side of the stairs leading back down to the armored limousine below.

On the left side, a very determined Britannian student pushed her way to the front of the group. She was driven to have her voice be heard, but was blocked by the imposing troops in front of her. She pushed closer and was met with the threat of a stun baton.

"Get back!" The masked Royal Guardsman yelled as he held out the metal rod, electricity visibly arcing along it.

As the voices in the crowd grew louder, and with time running out as Schneizel neared the limo, she was faced with the prospect of defeat. This was unacceptable. In desperation she yelled out as loud as she could the one thing that she hoped would have a chance catching Schneizel's attention through the ocean of noise. "I know who Zero is!"

As she predicted, Schneizel did hear, and in that instant he stopped moving as his brain quickly went through the many possible scenarios. She could just be another protestor trying to get his attention, some kind of admirer, or perhaps there was the abysmally small chance that the girl really did know something about Zero. He looked over to his left and saw a student well dressed in a spotless private school uniform, quite different from the average lower class protestors. At the end of his one second mental debate, and with nothing to lose by doing so, he decided to take a chance. Schneizel motioned to the captain of his guard unit to let the student through, and seconds later she was being pulled through the barricade by the same man that had threatened her only moments earlier. In a blur she found herself ripped from the chaos of the crowd outside and into the calm of the limousine's interior.

Aside from the one armed guard sitting off to the side, she found herself face to face with one of the most powerful men in the Empire.

"So you claim to know who the infamous Zero is? First tell me your name." Schneizel gently ordered.

"Shirley Fenette, your highness." she replied with some noticeable nervousness in her voice, despite her attempts to control it. It was quite a difference speaking to the Prime Minister in person compared to the hundred times that she went over it in her mind. In fact, she had thoroughly prepared for this moment by spending the last two days creating a story that was an intricate weave of truth and lies.

"You are a student, are you not? Ashford Academy judging by your uniform." Schneizel observed.

"Yes sir."

"And how would a nice young girl such as yourself come to know the identity of the most wanted man in the Empire?"

"He was a former classmate of mine." Shirley paused as memories of happier times invaded her mind. "I...loved him once." The Prime Minister started to regret his course of action, but decided to ask one more question.

"And what is his name?" Schneizel asked as he started to think she knew absolutely nothing of value.

"Lelouch...Lamperouge." Shirley spoke with slight hesitation.

With those two words, the world stood still. Schneizel froze as his mind tried to register what he had just heard. For her part, Shirley was not surprised at the effect the name had on him. She too was aware of who Lelouch had once been, due to Milly's misjudgment at including her at that meeting. But for the moment she pretended that she was in fact clueless as to the significance of the name.

"Tell me about him." Schneizel managed to speak after several seconds of silence, his voice showing much more curiosity than before.

"He was charming, nice, and unbelievably intelligent. No matter how many times he skipped class, his grades were always flawless. He was the president of the chess club and vice president of the student council. He resigned from the chess club last year after going undefeated for six months, and ended up with a gambling problem involving illegal high stakes chess matches. I don't believe he ever lost one though." Shirley recalled.

Schneizel just sat there quietly and listened to the seemingly endless stream of insignificant information that so accurately described the personality of his long dead brother.

"What do you know about his past?" Schneizel questioned, his tone more serious.

"Not much. He hated it when people tried to dig into his past. The one time I tried to push him he told me that his sister was killed by the Britannian Airforce during the invasion of Area 11. It almost brought him to tears just talking about it. I never tried to bring it up again." Shirley explained. As much as she wanted justice for her father's death, the last thing she wanted was to hurt Nunnally. It was also close enough to the official story that they had both died during the invasion to hopefully keep her survival a secret.

Schneizel absorbed the knowledge to think about it later. What mattered now was finding out everything he could.

"Why do you think Lelouch is Zero?"

"His girlfriend, Kallen, is the pilot of that knightmare, the red one." Now that was a solid piece of information that made real sense. From what he knew of the Black Knights, she was their ace pilot and a member of their upper leadership. "They both disappeared together the night before that battle at Chiba." Shirley reached into her pocket and pulled a slice of paper from it before handing it to Schneizel. It was a picture, dated just over a year ago that showed Lelouch at a school championship chess match. Again carefully picked to avoid involving anyone else. Schneizel stared at the picture, the uniformed figure frozen in time holding a black king piece invaded his mind and shattered what he believed to be the truth for the last seven years.

Schneizel handed her a black mobile phone. "If you uncover any more information, or he contacts you, use this phone. It is a secure line directly to me." Shirley took the phone as the three vehicle convoy approached the Ashford Academy. "Shirley...what made you come forward?"

"Zero killed my father at Narita. I...I just can't let him get away with that." She told him as a few tears began forming in her eyes.

"Do you have any family back in the mainland?" Shirley nodded. "You should go stay with them for a while. If Zero discovers that you've exposed his identity, you might become a target yourself." Schneizel suggested. Shirley instantly agreed, along with the fact that she couldn't bear the though of having to face the student council, especially Milly, if they found out that she had effectively betrayed their trust. The vehicles came to a halt near the gate, and the limo's door opened.

Shirley stepped out back into the sunlight and nearly felt sick as the three vehicles drove off. She could barely believe that she had worked up the courage to confront the Prime Minister of Britannia, and although the he had reassured her that she had done the right thing, Shirley was anything but certain. Scenarios of what might happen if the whole truth was exposed began to haunt her. Just the thought of what would happen to Nunnally and the council if her lies were unraveled was terrifying to her. She suddenly felt the urge to listen to the advice she was given and go back to the mainland. The potent mixture of fear, guilt, and uncertainty made her want to desperately get as far away from here as she could. She opted not to use the main gate, instead getting back onto the campus through a side entrance on the north wall, and hoping that nobody had seen her get out of the limo bracketed by armored cars.

* * *

The day after his chance encounter with Shirley had thrown the world on its head, Schneizel had made the choice to conceal his discovery and conduct his own secret investigation. There were still far too many unknowns surrounding her story. He therefore assigned one of his trusted Royal Guardsmen, Tobias Barnes, a highly secret and dangerous undercover mission.

Barnes stepped in the door of a house rumored to contain a Black Knights' recruiting station wearing plain clothes and a brown coat. The interior appeared as any ordinary home on the edge of the city would. Inside was a Britannian man wearing an average business suit typing away on a laptop.

"Can I help you?" The man asked without even bothering to look up from his computer screen. Barnes moved a few feet closer.

"I'm interested in joining the Black Knights."

"Are you now? And who told you to come here?" The business man replied cooly.

"A mutual friend." Barnes replied. The business man chuckled.

"Well your friend was right. I'll just need to take your information over here, and..." In a flash, Barnes drew a suppressed pistol with a visible laser dot sight and centered it just above the recruiter's left eye at close range.

"My name is Tobias Barnes, Prime Minister's Schneizel's Royal Guard." The previously care free man was quickly gripped by fear as he found himself staring precision laser assisted death in the face. Barnes pulled a plain white envelope from an inner pocket of his coat and dropped it on the laptop's keyboard. "Make sure that message gets to Zero, quickly." Barnes began walking back toward the front door, keeping his pistol on the recruiter as he did so. "Oh and by the way, there is going to be a raid on this house in about two hours. I suggest you get moving. Consider it a bonus for your cooperation."

Barnes slipped out the front door and concealed his weapon in one seamless motion before walking back to the rental car he had left three blocks down the road as if nothing had even happened. He pulled a phone and dialed the only number in the memory. Four seconds later it was answered, and Barnes delivered his message.

"They have it."

* * *

December 7th, 22:27, approximately 500km east of Area 11. NMT 141, also known as HMS Selene sailed through the calm Pacific. The Selene was an unarmed naval military transport, a huge vessel designed to carry massive quantities of weapons, equipment, munitions, and anything else Britannian military forces around the world could possibly need to wage war.

Although unarmed and crewed by only 46 non combat personnel, HMS Selene, like most trans ports, sailed alone. Apart from the EU, there existed no nation that could challenge Britannian naval dominance on the open ocean. This meant that there had not been a reason to cluster ships into armed and escorted convoys for nearly half a century. Over such a long period, security had become taken for granted by more recent generations of sailors. So when three rope ladders launched up from the depths and hooked themselves onto the side of the ship, there were no vigilant guard patrols to notice.

Three black clad figures quickly ascended the side by side ladders boarded the ship. Two of them scanned the deck with their suppressed assault rifles for any hostile targets, while the third drew his pistol equipped with a tactical light and leaned over the railing. He aimed the weapon down and flashed the light three times, signaling the rest of the strike team to climb up.

Two minutes later, sixteen Black Knights had boarded the Britannian ship. Four of them quickly opened their backpacks and began assembling a short range signal jammer. Another minute went by before the device was online and functioning normally. They had waited to move from their undetected position near the rear of the ship until the jammer ensured that the crew would not be able broadcast a distress call. Leaving two members behind to guard the jammer and keep it working, the remaining fourteen split into two teams and slowly began to move up both sides of the ship simultaneously.

The right team had slowly and quietly advanced thirty three meters from their starting point when they heard a metallic click from a door handle in front of them. The Black Knight on point motioned for everyone to hug the wall and stay quiet. A former Japanese resistance fighter, his first instinct was to just shoot the Britannian with his suppressed weapon and throw the body overboard, but he remained calm, remembering their rules of engagement. The sailor before him was clearly not a real threat, and they were not allowed to simply kill unarmed people.

He slowly pulled a cloth soaked in powerful anesthetics from a special pouch on his belt. The Britannian suddenly found a strong gloved hand shoving a foul smelling rag into his face and then a forceful tug as he was pulled back from the railing. The chemicals quickly took effect and two of the others had the unconscious man bound and gagged within seconds.

The point man edged up to the door and peeked in through the small window. Inside were between 20 and 30 of the Selene's crew, gathered around a TV, watching what appeared to be a football match. He motioned back and the Black Knight behind him handed him a flashbang grenade. He pulled the pin but kept the handle in place. He then raised his other hand and manually counted down from five. All seven of them readied their weapons as the point man opened the door just enough to toss the device inside. A deafening bang and blinding light was followed by the rapid entry of the assault team.

On the other side of the ship, The other team of seven had used similar tactics to seize the bridge, and four of them were on their way to the engine room shortly after. Within twenty minutes the ship had been captured without any real resistance, and the entire crew had been herded into the recreation room. Aside from a few minor injuries to the sailors, there had been no casualties.

* * *

"The assault teams are reporting that the ship has been captured with minimal resistance. The jamming device has worked as expected, no signals have been transmitted from the Selene in the last hour." A communications reported to Ougi on the bridge of the submarine.

"Have them change course toward the rendezvous point and begin prepping the cargo for unloading." He relayed fresh orders to the newly captured Britannian transport. Within a minute the ship had changed course from a route to Tokyo bay to a new destination almost 300km north of the city. The mission had gone perfectly to plan so far.

During his days as the leader of a small resistance group in Shinjuku, Ougi had doubted his abilities as a leader compared to Naoto Kouzuki, the original founder of the unit. Ever since the rise of the Black Knights, his confidence had been returning to the point where now he actually felt comfortable in his new position of command.

* * *

It had taken two days for the letter delivered by Barnes to reach the Black Knights in Narita. After a series of scans and tests that checked the simple paper envelope for explosives, poisons, tracking devices, biological weapons, or anything other than its stated contents, it finally made its way into the mountain fortress.

The soldier that had brought the envelope from one of the front entrances had to walk through most of the base to reach the command center that Zero frequently spent the majority of his time in. As he went, he passed through a military installation that the former JLF owners would have been jealous of. From the run down and abandoned state the mountain fortress had been in when they reoccupied it two weeks ago, it had been transformed into a modern facility that housed almost twenty thousand personnel in the base itself and the sprawling tunnel networks beneath it.

As he passed through one of the main hangars toward the elevator that led to the command center, he got quite a sight. From large ramp leading down to the tunnels emerged tank after tank. 40 Newly restored Japanese Type 10 MBTs, complete with new black paint jobs, rolled out one by one into the well lit hangar and lined up along with the other armored vehicles recently delivered by Kyoto along the south wall. With the addition of the former JLF's tanks, there were over two hundred units in this hangar, and even more in the adjacent one. The fact that so many combat vehicles were stored in one place was no accident. Thousands of Black Knights passed through this hangar on a regular basis, and the impressive display was working quite well as a morale booster and confidence builder. Seeing an assembly of forces that only the great world powers could match was a very inspiring sight.

As the man stepped off the elevator into the command center and began walking toward the front, he found Zero and Todou standing over a large map of central Japan. Numerous force deployments and attack plans had been drawn across its surface, as well as several different color coded Britannian response predictions. On the screen behind them was a wider area map, showing in real time the position and projected course of the Black Knights' submarine, as well as another ship he did not recognize. As he approached the table he noticed several friendly attack paths on the paper map that were marked as air strikes.

'So maybe that's what those flight simulators are for.' He wondered to himself, recalling the delivery of weapons and supplies that Kyoto had provided four days ago.

"Zero, this is the letter that one of our recruiters claims is from Prime Minister Schneizel." The soldier announced as he stepped close enough to hand Zero the white envelope. "It has been thoroughly analyzed and contains nothing but a folded document."

"Thank you." Zero replied as he took the envelope and began to open it as the messenger started back toward the elevator.

Zero opened the envelope and found a single folded sheet of paper inside. The hand written message was short, to the point, and very surprising.

"So, is it really from Schneizel?" Toudou asked, intrigued that he would really go to such lengths to get a secret message to Zero.

"This is definitely his writing." Zero mentioned as he read the letter's contents again. "It is a set of instructions for accessing an ultra secure Britannian diplomatic communications channel. According to this, he wants to speak to me without the knowledge of the military or the Viceroy. I'll have to enhance our security on this end, after all, we can't afford having them back trace the line to Narita."

"Do you think that he is considering switching sides?" The former JLF officer wondered. "Having secret contact with the enemy leadership would appear as a classic first step toward treason."

"Normally I would say no, but from the way this is worded I suppose anything is possible. Schneizel is one of the few people that I cannot easily read." Zero brought the letter to a communications officer in the command center and had him start preparing the additional security measures.

* * *

Schneizel walked through the cold evening air atop the government building toward the lowered ramp leading into the Avalon. He had given his subordinates a set of orders that effectively rendered him unreachable for the next six hours. He stepped into the airship to be greeted by several of his Royal Guardsmen.

"Is the room prepared?" He asked as the soldier nearest to the ramp controls pushed the button to raise it.

"Yes, your highness, all preparations have been completed to your specifications. Schneizel made his way up to the communications room in the back of the Avalon. The two armed soldiers that followed him remained outside as he entered the room. Here inside the Avalon was one of few communications systems that could access the most heavily encrypted channels available to Britannian officials. To his knowledge, a channel of this class had never been breached, making it perfect for such an event. He activated the unit and opened the line. It was precisely 48 seconds before the time he had specified in the letter. All he could do now was wait and see if any other connections were made. Five minutes later, another system successfully connected to the line with the proper identification codes. The information on the screen in front of him indicated link was online and a few seconds later, the video feed appeared.

As he had hoped, it was indeed Zero on the other end. The room he was sitting in had been blacked out, save for a single light directly above him. There was no way to tell from the image where he was.

"Thank you for accepting my request." Schneizel began.

"After all the trouble you went through to ask, how could I refuse? However, I am curious as to why you would go to such lengths to contact me directly."

"If the Viceroy or the military knew what I was doing, they would undoubtedly try to trace the connection and launch an attack. I'm a diplomat, not a soldier, I would rather that we attempt to find a peaceful solution to this conflict instead of wasting more lives and resources. As they say, only fools go to to war." Schneizel responded.

"There can be no truly bloodless outcome, however, there is a slightly less violent way to finish this."

"And what would that be?" Schneizel wondered.

"I know that you have quite a bit of influence within the military, Prime Minister. We could end this war right now if you would agree to meet two conditions. Overthrow Emperor Charles, and deliver him to me." Zero told him plainly.

"Do you really think that I would start a coup for you?" Schenizel replied, astounded at the idea.

"Honestly, of course not. But the fact remains that this is not a war that will end with signatures on a piece of paper. If you have no intention of helping me, there is little that we can negotiate on." Zero informed him.

"What do you hope to accomplish by fighting us? I am curious as to what you really want that cannot be accomplished with words." Schneizel asked.

"The destruction of the Holy Britannian Empire. In practical terms that translates to freedom for all of the Areas, and the death of Emperor Charles, along with all who would defend him. There can be no treaty with the power to produce such an outcome." Zero stated.

"I see. So there really is no alternative to war, I feared as much."

"Then it would appear that we have nothing more to discuss." Zero concluded.

"Before you leave, I have just one more question for you."

"Hmm?" Zero wondered.

"How did my sister die?" Schneizel asked the founder of the Black Knights.

"You are mistaken, Schneizel. I can assure you that Cornelia is alive and well. If I wanted to kill her I would have not even captured her in the first place." Zero replied, wondering why he would believe her to be dead.

"As much as I am glad to hear that, I was not referring to Cornelia." Schneizel continued.

"Then who?" Zero asked, now genuinely confused. To his knowledge, no other Britannian princess had been killed or captured by his Black Knights or any other group in a very long time.

"Nunnally vi Britannia." Schneizel answered. Zero paused for a moment, unsure of where this was going.

"That was during your invasion seven years ago, why would you believe that I know anything about the circumstances surrounding her death?"

"Because you were there, weren't you Lelouch?" Schneizel remarked with a smirk. Although it was almost 80F in the command center deep inside the Narita installation, Zero felt as if someone had injected ice water into his veins.

"How did you..." He quickly shot back, his voice laced with anger and surprise.

"You certainly left me enough subtle clues. First was the fact that you consistently used algebraic chess notation as unit call signs in battle during every communication that we managed to intercept. Second would be the Black Knights themselves. You always played black, and always loved your knights, even though you kept insisting that pawns were the most valuable piece. Third, Euphemia's betrayal suddenly makes much more sense considering how much she's always loved you. Finally, I can think of no one else with the strategic brilliance to repeatedly embarrass the most powerful army in history with a handful of rebels. And of course there's always the fact that truly confirming a death when you could not recover a body is nearly impossible." Schneizel explained. By now, the initial surge of anger had subsided, and Lelouch had regained his composure.

"So you know my name. Although this was...unexpected, you are too late to use this information against me to any significant effect." He reached behind his head and pulled off the Zero mask. "This mask has already served its purpose. We are well beyond the point where revealing me would do any real damage, after all, I am already the most wanted man in the Empire."

"You still have not answered my question, Lelouch." Lelouch's mind poured over the question he had been asked. He knew for certain that Nunnally was in fact alive and very well hidden hundreds of kilometers north of Tokyo. That Schneizel thought that she was dead indicated to him that he thought her death was his motive for starting the revolution, or maybe something else. Either way, he did not have the time to consider the possibilities and stuck with the first option.

"She was killed by a Britannian airstrike. Had I actually been there as you had assumed, I would have been vaporized in the blast as well." He told the Prime Minister, sticking close to what their intended fate had been.

"Nunnally was killed by our own air force? How can you be certain?" Schneizel asked, doubting Zero's claim.

"It was two months after the invasion, and nobody else had strategic bombers flying through Britannian controlled airspace. However, I would not be surprised if there are no records to confirm it. The OSI are very good at covering their tracks."

"Are you implying that the OSI was involved in her death?" Schneizel asked.

"Our deaths were ordered by the Emperor himself, and the OSI was his weapon of choice. I have more than enough evidence to prove it." Zero revealed.

"That makes no sense. Why would he try to have his own children killed?" Schneizel was actually astonished at the idea.

"Ask him yourself. I just know how, when, and where, but not why. Although to be honest with you, I don't really care why. They killed my sister, and I will make sure that they suffer for failing to kill me as well." Lelouch half lied. Although Schneizel had somehow figured out who was behind the mask, he still thought that Nunnally had been killed, which made hiding her as easy as staying off the grid and making sure any evidence of her survival was effectively erased.

"This did not turn out anywhere near the way I was hoping it would. Because I was one of the few that knew your bodies were never recovered, I always had this faint hope in the back of my mind that could have somehow survived. I wondered to myself what would happen if a day came that you and Nunnally returned with some miraculous story to tell. I could have never have imagined that it would end up like this. That we would meet again on opposite sides of a war. Goodbye, brother." With that, Schneizel killed the connection on his end.

* * *

After a three day journey on their forcibly altered course, NMT 141 ran aground near a coastal village that had been abandoned shortly after the invasion. Waiting nearby in the forest were a fleet of transport trucks concealed by a mass of camo netting. Thirty knightmare frames were also on site, hidden among the ruins of the destroyed village.

The ship had run as close to dry land as it could, before it dropped the two large ramps that led into the cargo hold with only half a meter of water between them and the beach. Moments after the ramps hit the water, four hundred Black Knights personnel rushed up the ramps and raced to start up the huge number of vehicles within. Thanks to the efforts of the team that had captured the ship, they had been provided with detailed maps of how everything had been stored within the hold. The vehicles inside were still fully fueled from being driven onto the ship. Their additional fuel stores and all of their weapons were stored separately in another section of the ship.

The Black Knights quickly started up 90 Panther tanks, 73 Badger APCs, 42 Sutherlands, and five Gloucesters. While the tanks and APCs were being unloaded, the knightmares moved to acquire the fuel and weapons on board.

The operation went smoothly and efficiently as the captured Britannian military hardware was disembarked and then loaded into the waiting trucks. After three hours of rapid work, the vehicles and their escort began the long twenty hour trek south toward Narita through the now sparsely populated forests of northern Japan. Along the way, a group of four Burais broke off from the main convoy and shot down several Britannian military aircraft with surface to air missiles almost 50km away, serving as an effective distraction.

* * *

Just before dawn on December 12th, after a week of preparations that established an air tight containment perimeter around the remaining rebels in the Edogawa ghetto, Britannian units were given the green light to launch their assault. The lethal combination of heavy armor and knightmare frames backed up by ground attack aircraft began their advance into the now crumbling remnants of old Tokyo.

Under the streets, Sutherlands and infantry units systematically sweeped through the old subway tunnels that the resistance had relied on for years as a means of evasion. In the week leading up to the assault, recon teams had mapped out virtually every tunnel entrance in eastern Tokyo, removing any chance of a stealthy escape.

Among the hundreds of Britannian infantry soldiers down in the dark tunnels was Fireteam Echo of the 2nd Royal Infantry. Led by Sgt Matthew Sanders, the team of four proceeded down the right side of one of the tunnels, just to the right of a Sutherland several meters in front of them. He scanned the tunnel as they advanced, the night vision mode of his integrated helmet display enhancing the visibility of the otherwise black tunnel to a green tinted version of something similar to just after sunset. The beams of the IR laser assist weapon attachments indicating where his team, and the other four troops hugging the left wall, were aiming their weapons.

Suddenly, a small red triangle appeared on his hud, indicating that his helmet system had identified a human shape that did not have a friendly IFF tag. He informed the Sutherland pilot, and a quick check with the Sutherland's zoom optics showed that it was a hostile with a rocket launcher sticking up from behind a small barricade. Fortunately for the Britannians, the resistance fighter had not yet seen them in the darkness of the tunnel.

"One hostile with an RPG behind cover, 160 meters down on your one o clock. Pop him." Sanders ordered Echo's marksman. Corporal Claire Ennerdale dropped to one knee and took aim with her heavily modified M392 rifle. She activated the zoom device behind her holographic sight and found the resistance fighter's right eye with 6x magnification. Claire squeezed the trigger and removed half of the man's head before the sound wave could even reach him. Seconds later, a storm of hot lead and bright flashes came screaming down the tunnel as other resistance fighters returned fire into the darkness. With their night vision devices and precision optics, the Britannian forces eliminated the now revealed troops with deadly efficiency.

They quickly closed the distance to the area where the dead resistance fighters had fallen, discovering it to be the entrance to an old subway station. Echo team climbed up onto the boarding platform and began to sweep the area as Bravo and the Sutherland slowly continued toward the other side of the station. With no additional contacts spotted, they began to move back toward the knightmare when suddenly a section of the roof of the tunnel collapsed, seperating them from the tunnel where Bravo and the Sutherland were.

"Something just collapsed the tunnel and trapped us in this train station. Echo team cannot continue on mission, requesting new orders." Sanders radioed back to his superiors. A moment later, a voice from the other side replied.

"Roger that Echo. Your new orders are to go through the station and make your way to the surface. From there you are to link up with friendly forces and provide assistance." Sanders acknowledged and motioned his team toward a door on the right. They switched their lasers from IR to visible and disabled their night vision in the lit station. Corporal Ennerdale loaded the modular shotgun attached to the bottom rail of her battle rifle and altered her grip to the trigger just in front of the rifle's box magazine before following her assault rifle wielding friends into the unknown.

* * *

Fourteen hours of intense combat later, the operation was complete. The result a decisive Britannian victory. One thousand, eight hundred, and ninety four rebel fighters had been killed to only two hundred and sixteen Britannians, a kill ratio of almost nine to one. Most of the buildings in the Edogawa area had been severely damaged as the advancing Britannian forces were uncaring about collateral damage. Several more had been collapsed completely by the raw power of the Gawain's dual Hadron Cannons.

Britannian officials were quick to label Operation Wildfire a resounding success, as the rebel and terrorist presence that had plagued the Tokyo area for years had been mercilessly crushed. However, they had not managed to locate the Black Knights' main base, or inflict serious damage upon them. The day after the battle at Edogawa ended, they did in fact find a place that appeared to be a Black Knights facility located in a warehouse based on an anonymous tip. An additional thirty troops were crushed to death when they discovered the hard way that the warehouse had been a trap that was carefully rigged to implode.

* * *

December 18th.

Diethard waited until his coworker had shut the door as he left the office before opening the secret compartment in his desk. Its contents had changed considerably in recent months. He had finished the bottle of vodka, but decided not to replace it. Instead the same space now held many more bundles of 100 Pound notes.

The military issue pistol had he had stashed there had also been replaced. Diethard had spent a portion of the payment Zero had provided for his outstanding coverage of Euphemia's reveal on a .44 magnum revolver, complete with a rail mounted laser sight and a custom muzzle brake. A dozen full speed loaders, color coded by ammo type, and a spare box of regular magnum ammo accompanied the new weapon. He placed a piece of paper laden with confidential contact information inside, but the phone started ringing before he could close the compartment. He got back up and answered.

"Hello Diethard." Zero's distinctive voice greeted him through the line.

"Zero! What can I do for you today?" Ried was happy to hear his voice again. The last time Zero had called he had made more money in 40 hours than the prior two months, on top of getting the most exclusive story in the world at the time.

"Tomorrow night, actually. I'm sure you're aware of the Prime Minister's scheduled speech?"

"Of course. HiTV will have the exclusive broadcast crew for his highness." Diethard paused for a moment. "Something tells me I am going to like where this is going."

"I'm going to be making my own speech, and I would like to 'borrow' some of Schneizel's air time." Zero told him. "Can you replace the feed with my own about five seconds into the broadcast?"

"The signal from the camera crew comes directly to our headquarters before distribution for security purposes. The only way to intercept it is to do it manually from inside this building." Diethard informed.

"Can you do it?"

"Of course, but they will undoubtedly attempt to stop me once the broadcast switches."

"Would you like me to provide you a covert security team to defend the site?"

"Certainly, Zero. That would be most helpful. After all, it would be a daunting task to maintain the connection and fight off the police at the same time." Diethard responded, ending the conversation. He pulled the large chrome revolver from the still open secret compartment and spun the cylinder around.

"Looks like you are going to give me a wonderful return on investment."


	18. Into The Light

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

* * *

Three hundred kilometers northwest of Tokyo sat the Noto Strategic Airbase. Originally a civilian airport with a single runway before the Britannian invasion, The Britannian Airforce had taken over the airfield in the days after Japan's surrender and began a massive upgrade project. Noto was perfectly positioned to provide a first strike capability against any hypothetical Chinese invasion of Area 11's west coast. To transform it into a facility that met their specifications, the Britannian engineers extended the original civilian runway, and then added two more next to it. Next to the runways sat a large hangar complex that could accommodate virtually any aircraft in the Britannian arsenal.

To provide the first strike capability, the base had been outfitted with 84 of the state of the art FA120 Tempest air supremacy fighters. Designed to excel at both air superiority and strike missions, the FA120 replaced a wide range of previous generation air superiority and strike fighters. In addition to the Tempests, Noto was also home to a wing of fifteen Stingray strategic bombers, a large twin tailed flying wing design with the capacity to drop over 80 bombs or launch 105 precision guided missiles against land, sea, and air targets.

Overall, the Noto base was equipped with everything required to rain destruction on an enemy force from the air. It was also well prepared to hold against any Chinese or European sea or air attacks with a variety of anti missile, anti air, and long range anti ship defense systems. However, its location far away from any terrorist or resistance hotspots meant that the base's commanders had cut ground defenses to a bare minimum, as they did not expect an attack from anything that did not originate from the air or sea. It was precisely for these reasons that Zero chose Noto as the location of his opening move.

Concealed in the hills along the southern edge of the base were just over six hundred Black Knights infantry, including all of those that had trained extensively on the flight simulators. They were backed up by twelve knightmares, three Sutherlands and nine Burais. With Britannian ground patrols almost non existent in the region, staying hidden was not a challenge for them. They already had their orders and battle plan, all they needed now was the signal to strike.

Milly Ashford took a momentary break from the enormous stack of documents on the table before her to lean back. To say her quality of life had degernerated over the last few weeks would have been an understatement. This happened to be the fourth day in a row that she was working long into the day doing three people's work, with only Rivalz to back her up.

She looked up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. She was stuck with so much work because her once great student council had since disintegrated. Lelouch, Kallen, and Nina had suddenly dissapeared one night after one of her parties. They had left with no warning, no reasons, not even a trace of where or why they had gone. It was not long after that Suzaku had been rapidly promoted up the military ladder by the new Viceroy. Because he was now a real military commander and constantly occupied with his duties, he had not been able to attend school in weeks. And then there was Shirley, who had also left them without any apparent reason the week before. The only information Milly could dig up was that she had hastily packed up whatever she could carry and left in a hurry, leaving everything else to her roommate.

Of course, Milly had tried to find replacements to fill the gaps in the student council. She had ended up recruiting four new enthusiastic members the week earlier. By Monday they had all quit, mostly because of their president's inhumanly high expectations. Secretly, she was actually happy to see them go, reducing the council back to just the last two original members. Milly had found out the hard way that they had to spend so much time micromanaging the new recruits that all six of them actually got less work done than she and Rivalz alone. She had eventually realized that there were no real replacements for the team of all stars that she had come to rely on to keep Ashford Academy running smoothly.

"I miss them, Rivalz. I wish everything would just go back to the way it was a few months ago." Milly said, still staring at the ceiling.

"That makes two of us." Rivalz added. "I miss everyone too, especially Lelouch. It's just not the same without him here."

On que, the student council room's phone started ringing. They looked at each other, and then at the phone, wondering who would be calling them. Milly got up to answer it since she was closer. She picked the phone from hook, brought it to her ear, and felt her blood run cold.

"I'm sorry, Milly." A very familiar voice came through the line.

"Damn it Lelouch, you better be sorry after disappearing on us like that!" She yelled back at him. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been? How worried we've all been?" Lelouch could hear sadness mixing into her initial anger.

"I know. But it was for your own protection. The last thing I would have wanted to happen was for your family and the school to be targetted as a way to get to me. It was simply impossible to continue on as a student while simultaneously leading a revolution." He explained.

"So you admit it then? You really are Zero?" Milly was slightly surprised that their theory had been correct.

"Yes, although it isn't much of a secret anymore. Schneizel knows, so I have to assume that the OSI and the Emperor are aware as well. If they know I'm alive, there's no reason to hide any longer."

"What about Nina, Nunnally and Shirley? Are they a part of this too?" Milly asked him, desperate to find out what became of her friends. Lelouch thought over her words for a few seconds, the part about Shirley sticking out at him.

"Nunnally is safe, I won't say any more." He paused for a moment. Saying that had brought his sister to the front of his mind. Although he was certain that she was safe and well looked after, he still wondered how it felt to be all alone with only Sayoko in the middle of nowhere. Lelouch pulled himself off that train of thought before the desire to be with her grew too strong. "Nina works for me now, and I haven't heard from Shirley in weeks. Did something happen to her?"

"She disappeared just like you. One day she was perfectly fine, and the next I find out that she cleaned out her room and left a note saying that she couldn't stay and that she was sorry about something." Milly informed him.

"Wherever Shirley went, I assure you I had no hand in it. As much as I would like to investigate, there is something much more serious and immediate. I need your help, Milly."

"With what?"

"Remember the underground warehouse beneath the campus? I need you to get everyone at the Academy down there as soon as you can." Lelouch told her with a hint of urgency.

"Why? What's going to happen that we need to hide underground?" Her voice became a bit more concerned.

"I suppose it wont hurt to tell you the truth, considering the whole world will know soon enough anyway. In just under three hours I will be launching a strategic offensive with the goal of seizing the capital and ousting the Britannian colonial government. The Order of Black Knights will be assaulting Tokyo itself, and avoiding civilian casualties is a high priority. " Lelouch killed the connection before she could respond. He immediately went back to overseeing the deployments and preparations, having decided that he could not waste any more precious time.

* * *

Diethard Ried sat at his desk at the HiTV headquarters, going over the blueprints of the building's 8th floor where he would have to manually switch the signals. The broadcasting control room had only one entrance out of the main hallway, an easily defensable choke point. In addition, there were also air conditioning ducts inside the south wall that were technically big enough for the average person to move through. Just as he was contemplating whether or not an armored SWAT police officer could move through the space, two knocks preceded his door opening.

Five Britannians stepped into the room, four men and one woman. They were dressed in ordinary black business suits, white shirts, and ties with a red and black diamond pattern. Just as Zero had told him they would be. He had them shut the door and they immediately went to work planning their hostile takeover.

* * *

Princess Carine le Britannia looked down from her seat on board the VTOL aircraft that was giving her an aerial tour of her army's new bases under construction. Viceroy Secilia had paced the construction crews' efforts to match the arrival schedule of the five separate shipments of troops. The first of the five new bases was already complete when she and the first fifty thousand soldiers of the 7th Army arrived in Area 11.

The Viceroy had been surprised to learn that Princess Carine would be leading the 7th Army, assuming that General Anthony Fletcher would wait until after this deployment to retire. Despite her young age of fifteen, Carine possessed an enthusiasm for violence and warfare that few could match, as demonstrated by her numerous and brutal victories in Western Europe during her five months of military service. Although Secilia would never admit it publicly due to Carine's royal blood, she was concerned about having a bloodythirst teenager in command of such a large force. Technically, Carine was to be operating under her command, but Secilia knew from experience that she had very little real power over a princess. And if forced to choose, very few soldiers would disobey the orders of royalty.

Carine watched from her seat high above as NMT 137, an enormous transport ship, unloaded weapons, supplies, and vehicles to the new base. Her available forces were short on equipment and had to borrow some surplus units from Area 11's existing forces, as one of the transports had apparently been somehow hijacked and looted on the open ocean. Regardless, she looked down upon her forces with supreme confidence. After all, these were just numbers and traitors that they were here to fight in Area 11, nothing like the strong and professional armies that they had faced in Europe. In her mind, the princess had little to worry about. She would crush these rebels and secure her reputation as a great Britannian war hero.

* * *

December 19th, 14:30. The few ground units that comprised the land defenses of the Noto Strategic Airbase began their regular shift change. As the soldiers took the four minutes necessary to switch, powerful jamming devices were activated along several nearby hills, effectively cutting any direct communication with Tokyo.

Before the Britannians even knew anything was wrong, hundreds of hostile infantry surged forth from their concealed positions barely three hundred meters from Noto's southern perimeter. Backed up by twelve knightmare frames, which split into groups of three, they quickly covered the open ground to the base's outermost fence, which the knightmares were already clearing for them. As they neared the perimeter, they took eight casualties, three fatal, from a machine gunner who had been blindly spraying fire at them from behind a container crate. A nearby black Sutherland quickly removed the threat with a burst of 25mm explosive rounds.

The assaulting infantry units quickly split up after breaching the perimeter and moved to capture their assigned objectives. Some went to neutralize the base's remaining ground troops, others went to clear the nearby buildings, and even more raced to the hangars to secure their aircraft.

For the most part, the Black Knights were very successful. The Britannian defenders had been taken completely by surprise by a numerically superior force. However, they managed to regroup in the northeast corner of the installation. The remaining Britannian forces, about 100 infantry and four hastily armed maintenance Glasgow frames, scrambled to dig in and resist.

The attacking Black Knights infantry that were engaging their position from the south found themselves pinned and held back by their determined enemy's overlapping fields of fire. The Britannian troops were desperately calling for reinforcements, oblivious to the fact that their communications were being actively jammed. No help would be coming for them.

Twenty minutes later, all twelve knightmare frames and upwards of three hundred Black Knights launched a vicious assault on their position. Within minutes they managed to penetrate and destroy the pocket of resistance, at the cost of 38 troops dead, 33 more wounded, and one Burai destroyed by anti armor rockets.

As the fighting ended, the noncombatant personnel in the base were gathered and placed into one of the larger hangars under armed guard. Their new rules of engagement were very clear. Armed Britannian soldiers were to be killed on sight. Unarmed troops and noncombatants were to be given the option to surrender, and killed if they refused. Civilians were to be protected if possible, and detained with minimal force if they resisted.

An hour later, the Black Knights had armed and boarded all of the Tempest fighters, and ten of the Stingray bombers, the other five remaining on base as they did not have enough air crew for all of the aircraft. Utilizing all three runways, the Tempests took off six at a time, followed shortly after by the strategic bombers. They started climbing and formed up in the skies over western Japan before they began flying east toward Tokyo, their stealth technology and custom IFF signals rendering them practically invisible to all active Britannian radar installations.

* * *

Prime Minister Schneizel walked up to the podium, put down his three sheets of paper, and began waiting for the two minute countdown timer that the HiTV news crew used to indicate when they were going live. Gathered in the room with him were a variety of Area 11's elite, including the Viceroy.

As the timer reached twenty seconds, and Schneizel prepared himself, a soldier entered from the back and quickly approached Viceroy Secilia.

"Your Excellency, we have just lost all contact with the Noto airbase, they aren't responding to any transmissions." The infantryman informed her.

"What do you mean 'lost contact'? Have they been attacked?" The Viceroy asked.

"We do not know, there haven't been any reports from the area in the last two hours. I must inform you that two hours is fifty seven minutes longer than any communications issue on record for that base."

"Divert an air patrol over to Noto immediately and find out what is happening. Report back to me the moment you have new information." Secilia ordered.

"At once, Viceroy." The soldier finished before quickly leaving the room to carry out his new orders. As the door shut behind him, the news team signaled that they were going live. Schneizel prepared to speak.

* * *

At that same moment on the 8th floor of the HiTV headquarters in central Tokyo, Diethard Ried and his team of undercover Black Knights had taken over the broadcasting room as planned. He changed a few settings to match a signal that the head of the security team had provided him. On schedule, Schneizel appeared on the live feed in front of them, standing behind the podium with a pair of well lit Britannian flags adorning the wall behind him. Exactly five seconds into the broadcast, Diethard flipped a switch and changed the outbound signal.

The screen with the live feed flickered for a moment, before switching to something else entirely. Zero appeared on the feed, standing atop a silver Gekka frame. Other knightmares were visible behind his. On Zero's right stood the Black Knights' custom Gloucester. Like Zero, its pilot also was standing in the open air above the frame. Above the new black uniform was a head that could not be mistaken. Cornelia li Britannia stood in the cold December air, wearing a uniform with a very visible silver Black Knights emblem across the chest. On Zero's left was another Gekka with a custom black paint job. Kyoshiro Todou stood at attention above the unit.

The image was truly awe inspiring, not because of the fact that a Britannian princess and a Japanese war hero were standing beside Zero, but because they were standing beside Zero with the whole of Britannian Tokyo clearly visible behind them.

* * *

A minute earlier aboard the Black Knights' submarine, three hundred kilometers southeast of Tokyo, an order came over their secure channel. A crew member keyed in a set of sensitive codes on a normally restricted console after receiving authorization. Two of the submarine's vertical launch tubes' doors then opened. Seconds later, flame and smoke erupted through the calm surface of the Pacific Ocean as two strategic missiles reached up into the sky. They quickly ascended vertically, leaving white trails behind them, before heading west toward their target coordinates..

* * *

The world watched in surprise as Zero had cut off the Prime Minister's speech. Most of them were all eager to find out what he had to say. The exception being the Black Knights themselves, as they had already gotten a preview 17 hours earlier, just before they prepared to move out toward their operation starting positions. Four seconds after he appeared, Zero began to speak.

"I am Zero, founder and leader of the Order of Black Knights. Over the past five months, you have witnessed things that were once thought of as impossible brought to reality through my actions. This mask that I wear has always been the public face of our struggle, and it has come to represent the ideas and values that the Black Knights stand for.

However, in the end it is nothing more than a symbol, a tool that has allowed me to build an army with the strength and determination to fight for what we believe in. We fight for a world without the racism and injustice heaped upon us by Emperor Charles, and my Black Knights are living proof that it is possible. We are an equal opportunity military, where everyone from Japanese refugees to Britannian royalty live and fight side by side for the chance to create a better future for us all.

My mask has completed its mission flawlessly, and now the time has finally come where we no longer need to rely on a symbol. Zero will not defeat the Holy Britannian Empire..." Zero spoke. Then, for the first time on live television, he reached behind his head and unlocked the scales, which then slid up. He removed the mask and placed it down on the Gekka. The camera zoomed in closer, and the whole world finally got to see the face of the mysterious revolutionary leader. "But I will."

"Once upon a time, I was a prince, living my happy childhood in a grand Pendragon palace. But it was not to be. Seven years ago, I was betrayed. In an instant, Britannia stole everything from me. My home, my family, my entire place in the world. I was exiled to Japan before my eleventh birthday, tossed aside by the Emperor as if I were nothing more than worthless garbage. But just as I finally had a place that I could call home again, Britannia came half way across the world to destroy it all for the second time.

Emperor Charles, my name is Lelouch vi Britannia, and I am a demon of your own creation. I will tear down your empire, and cleanse your evil from the world. I will have vengeance for all the innocent lives that you have destroyed. I will erase your life's accomplishments from existence, and burn everything that you stand for. Then from the ashes, I will forge a brighter future for everyone, because we are all created equal, and we all deserve to be free. My only regret is that you won't live long enough to see it happen." Lelouch boldly declared to the Emperor, with literally the whole world as his witness. Lelouch checked his watch, and saw that it was exactly 16:02:27, exactly nine seconds until the projected impact time. The Black Prince looked back up at the camera. "This is the way your world ends!"

Thousands of miles away in Pendragon, Emperor Charles sat at the head of a large oval table with various members of the royal family and a number of generals and admirals. The Emperor was fond of having these type of meetings, as they allowed him to well informed on the status of the Empire. They had spent the last hour discussing everything from the military situation in Europe, to new technology. That was a bit of information William Black could not have cared less about as he and four other OSI personnel barged through the door, to the surprise of the room's occupants.

"What is the meaning of this interruption William?" Charles asked with an undertone of annoyance as he stood up.

"Forgive me your majesty, but you must see this!" Black quickly blurted out as he moved to hit a few buttons at the controls of the room's large screen. Their map of Europe disappeared and was instantly replaced by the live broadcast from Area 11. They, along with hundreds of millions of others around the globe watched in silence as Lelouch vi Britannia declared his intentions. When the speech ended, the room sat dead silent for several seconds. Then their Emperor began laughing.

"Who would have thought that such a little weakling would grow up to be this much of an annoyance."

Port Yokosuka, just over 45 kilometers from central Tokyo, was home to a Britannian Royal Marine base. The six thousand personnel stationed here had a wide variety of responsibilities, being the only Royal Marines in Area 11. Unfortunately for the action hungry Marines, this was a quiet area, and their duties mainly consisted of assisting the Royal Britannian Navy, and boring patrols through abandoned areas. Most of the civilian population had fled north following the initial invasion, with virtually all of those that remained following them in the years after. By late 2017, there was little but the ruins of what once was, and base left in the area.

Down on the docks, three cruisers and a frigate were in port for resupply. Nearby was a large military transport ship. The transport had stopped here to unload the 400 RM personnel it had ferried from the mainland, before sailing to the other side of Tokyo Bay to deliver its main shipment of seven thousand troops of the 7th Army to their new base near the abandoned town at Kisarazu. This was the second of five total transport ships bringing the second wave of fifty thousand troops to Area 11 from Europe, the first having arrived ten hours earlier. This ship had in fact passed the last one on the way into the bay two hours earlier. The crew of the departing vessel had no idea just how lucky they were.

A small light, trailing white smoke, sailed through the sky toward Yokosuka. From a distance, it could have easily been mistaken for a high altitude aircraft. No alarm went off as the missile approached. Those that were not already busy at their posts were glued to whatever screen was closest, watching Zero on TV. The seconds ticked by slowly as the Marines watched Zero, now revealed as the supposedly dead prince, Lelouch vi Britannia, check a wrist watch. He looked back to the camera.

"This is the way your world ends!" The time was 16:02:47, December 19th, 2017, A single moment that would change the course of history forever.

At precisely that second, the incoming strategic missile was 1 kilometer over Yokosuka. Upon reaching the programmed height, the Mjolnir warhead activated, and the weapon detonated. In a fraction of a second, the most powerful artificial explosion in human history was unleashed upon the unfortunate base. With power equivalent to approximately five megatons of TNT, the Mjolnir bomb exploded into a titanic blast of blindingly bright pink light.

Many times brighter than the sun, the massive fireball grew to a diameter of nearly four kilometers in the blink of an eye, instantly vaporizing Port Yokosuka and all who were there. The unbelievable heat generated by the explosion fueled a supersonic blast wave that smashed and incinerated everything within an eleven kilometer radius of the fireball. After the wave passed, the intense heat sparked thousands of fires through the remains of the affected areas.

What had been a Britannian military base only a minute earlier was now a huge and rapidly flooding crater that would have been easily visible from orbit. There were no survivors, no remains, not even a trace left in the blast radius that the Yokosuka base had even existed. All thirteen thousand troops and sailors had been erased from the world at the push of a button.

Forty two seconds later, the second strategic missile slammed into the nearly finished Kisarazu base, just over 25 kilometers away, with similarly devastating results. The name Mjolnir was well suited to the weapon's power, for what remained of the target areas really did look as if they had just been hit by the hammer of a god.

The view of Mjolnir from Tokyo had been both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. As one sun dipped lower in the western sky, two more rose in the south. The heat, wind, and sound generated from the twin nuclear blasts could be clearly felt even at over 40 kilometers away, momentarily banishing the cold of winter with a surge of midsummer heat. As the fireballs dimmed, two giant mushroom clouds reached high into the evening sky.

* * *

Lelouch lowered himself back into his Gekka, pleased that he had managed to time his speech almost exactly to the flight time of the first missile. Psychologically, it would give the impression to many that his words themselves had caused the unbelievable explosions. An incoming transmission notice appeared on one of his screens. He accepted it and was greeted by a young Japanese woman dressed in a spotless Black Knights uniform. From what he could see behind her, she was one of the intelligence staff at the Narita base's command center.

"Zero, both Mjolnir weapons have detonated successfully against their targets of Yokosuka and Kisarazu. Total estimated Britannian military casualties are between 12 and 18 thousand. Civilian casualties in those areas would have been minimal, no more than one or two hundred at most." She reported.

While significant damage had clearly been done in the strikes, Yokosuka and Kisarazu were far from the juiciest targets. The bases had been singled out for their lack of nearby civilian populations. Using Mjolnir to strike Starlight Field and the newly constructed base just south of Chiba would have outright crippled their enemy, all but assuring a quick victory. However, they were also in close proximity to highly populated areas. Killing 40,000+ Britannian troops would have been great, but murdering upwards of half a million innocent civilians in the process was simply not something Lelouch was willing to do no matter the reason.

* * *

In addition to the significant physical destruction caused, the secondary and indirect effects of Mjolnir were far more widespread. The whole world was in shock at the events of the last hour, and that could be exploited as a decisive strategic advantage. Britannian military communications were a disorganized mess immediately following the nuclear attack. Being completely unprepared, and fearing additional strikes could be incoming, several Britannian field commanders ordered their forces to break formation as a preemptive defensive measure. On paper, it did make sense to start moving as fast as they could if more missiles were incoming. The problem for them was that it was nothing more than an elaborate trap. The fact that fear and panic could shatter a defensive position faster than any conventional attack was an element that Lelouch had considered when designing his battle plans.

One such Britannian armored unit had been ordered to move from their assigned positions and advance ten kilometers north of Tokyo. As they approached three kilometers from their starting point, they found themselves suddenly and brutally engaged by dozens of black tanks and knightmare frames that had been concealed in the forest. They had run blindly right into a Black Knights armored unit that was not suffering from panic induced disorganization. The Britannians returned fire as best as they could under the circumstances, but were no match for the calmly aimed, lethally accurate fire being poured onto them. Within five minutes, all of their vehicles had been systematically destroyed by the advancing armor, with the surviving infantry being mercilessly exterminated by the advancing armored vehicles' thermal sighted secondary weapons.

The story was the same all along the front above Tokyo. Thousands of Black Knights advanced from their starting positions toward the city at a rapid pace, easily crushing what little disorganized resistance stood between them and their objectives.

* * *

Britannian military communications had been severely disrupted in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear attacks. Both from the shock and chaos created, and from the weapons' EMP effects. Britannian commanders did eventually manage to restore order, but not before numerous units had been lost to the devastating surprise ground attack from the north that had been initiated as the strategic missiles had hit in the south. Many of the units stationed to the north of Tokyo had taken serious casualties.

Without any other good options, All Britannian forces north of Tokyo were ordered by the Viceroy to pull back into the massive structure of the city itself. From this position, they had several critical defensive advantages over the attacking Black Knights. The entire Britannian city was raised almost 40 meters above ground level, with the main entrances being a series of bridges that led in from Area 11's highway system. As the troops, tanks, and knightmare frames retreated into the city, they had a natural high ground advantage, as well as security in the knowledge that the city was surrounded by what effectively amounted to a large moat.

The water channels setup around the city were home to the massive solar and tidal power arrays that provided a significant portion of the city's energy supply. They were also deep enough to keep an invading army out.

As the Britannian units crossed the bridges into the city, waves of ground attack aircraft and Shortsword gunships flew over the area to cover their retreat and suppress the enemy advance. As they did, several of the pilots noticed a small section of the western sky was sparkling with what appeared as a cluster of stars. This would be nothing unusual, except for the fact that stars were not supposed to be visible that close to the setting sun.

* * *

Ried had been very correct in assuming that the staff and police would try to end their hijacking of the broadcasting room. It was only a few minutes from the start of Zero's speech until a police unit had shown up at the front door of the room. A dozen regularly uniformed officers, not armored SWAT troops, stacked up on both sides of the double doors.

Diethard took a moment to think over the situation. He had broken into this room at Zero's request, cut off the Prime Minister's speech, and was now standing with five Black Knights to defend the position. He was no longer just a reporter doing some questionable things to get a story, but in effect was now working for Zero. This was now a real war, and he had taken a side.

"Why the hell not. I guess making the news can be just as fun as reporting it." Diethard muttered to himself as he drew his custom revolver and activated the laser sight before taking aim at the door. A few seconds later, the police, at the insistence of the HiTV staff, tried to breach the broadcasting room. The doors were smashed in, and in rushed the police with their pistols and three shotguns. The Black Knights team immediately opened fire with their assault weapons as the officers entered the room, quickly injuring two and forcing them to take cover near the entrance.

Diethard poked out from his hiding spot behind a server tower and leveled the magnum toward a policeman with a pump action shotgun on the other side of the room. The red laser dot settled just under his target's left ear. Ried squeezed the trigger, causing a sound much louder than the lower caliber weapons exchanging fire. The large round hit precisely where the laser said it would, blasting a large portion of the man's head off with an unmistakable wet popping sound. It was the first time he had ever killed someone, but Ried had seen enough death and gunfights first hand during his career to not let it faze him. He shifted to fire at another, but they were now aware of his position and repositioned themselves out of his line of fire. He fired three more .44 caliber rounds into the desk one of the officers was using as a shield. The scream that followed indicating that he had hit someone.

* * *

Britannian Tokyo was itself a true marvel of modern engineering. The massive structure that the entire city was build upon had six main entrance bridges which led up from the highways at ground level. As the Black Knights forces pushed toward the city, they would have to go up some or all of these to get their armor into the city.

As black tanks, APCs, and knightmare frames pushed up the four bridges that led in from the north and west, swarms of Britannian attack aircraft rushed to defend the area. Dozens of Shortsword gunships engaged the exposed Black Knights, raining explosive rockets and 30mm cannon fire down upon their vehicles. The forces on the ground returned fire with what anti air capable weapons they had available. Knightmares' 25mm assault rifle fire, secondary machine guns mounted on the tanks, and even a few Badger AD variants equipped with powerful 20mm Gatling cannons, designed for short range anti air and tactical missile defense.

Despite their array of anti aircraft weapons, it was clear that the Black Knights were in fact losing. Several of their vehicles exploded under the barrage of fire from the air. Combined with a counterstrike by Britannian armor at the top of the bridges was pushing them back. The counterstrike was particularly effective in the north, where Britannian units managed to force the Black Knights off of the northern most bridge entirely.

As Britannian forces retook control of the northern most bridge, they began to exchange fire with Black Knights vehicles 400 meters away on another bridge. Hundreds of glowing tracer rounds danced between the two bridges as well as into the sky.

Within the HiTV headquarters inside the city, another battle was raging for control of the broadcasting room. Diethard and his Black Knight allies had managed to kill most of the original police officers that had breached the door. However, just as they had taken a numerical advantage, the first swat team arrived on scene.

The heavily armored swat officers rushed through the doors, advancing through heavy fire under the protection of shields and first rate body armor. The Black Knights' small arms were unable to penetrate the heavy shields carried by the officers on point, and soon ten of them had reached cover inside the room.

Unlike the regular officers, the swat unit was more heavily armed. In addition to pistols and shotguns, they carried sub machine guns, compact assault rifles, and stun grenades.

A Black Knight threw a flash grenade of his own, and all six of them raised up and opened fire at their disoriented opposition. The swat troops had been trained on how to deal with this type of situation however, and were quicker to recover than expected.

One of the armored police found a good angle, and fired a long burst from his assault rifle across the broadcast room. The first Black Knight fell as nine rounds shredded her upper torso and neck. Her bloody remains slumped down against the desk behind her. Seeing an opportunity as the enemy fire diminished, the SWAT team began to advance. They slowly moved in teams of three across the room, being careful not to be too exposed.

One of the Black Knights tapped the briefcase he had brought with him, and the other three nodded at him. Diethard looked at them with confusion, until he saw what was inside the briefcase. The Black Knight had in his hands three large tan bricks, each with a switch taped to them. He put one of them down and Diethard's eyes widened as he got a good look at the writing on the side. "C4 High Explosive, 1 Kilogram. The man flipped the switches to green on all three blocks. At the same time, the others raised up and unloaded their weapons on full auto at the approaching police. Another suited Black Knight was killed by a headshot as he stood up.

A total of 100 hot metal bullets were sprayed across the room at the police. Although intended as a suppression tactic, many of them hit the approaching force. The police tried to get behind the protection of their shields, but it was not big enough. Two of the swat officers suffered multiple hits from the assault rifle fire. The screams of their suffering unnerved the rest of the SWAT, and the advance stalled as the police tried to get their wounded back to the entrance.

When all of the rifles clicked empty, the Black Knight with the briefcase threw the C4 toward the entrance and the pinned SWAT officers. With his hand on the detonator, he motioned at the large vent cover near them. Diethard raised his revolver and blasted off the large bolts holding the vent cover in place. The last bolt exploded, and the man behind him pressed the detonator.

An overwhelming conbination of light, sound, and explosive overpressure shook the entire building. The C4 had obliterated the front half of the room, the police occupying it, and probably more in the hallway. The four survivors squeezed into the ventalation system and moved to make their escape.

Viceroy Secilia quickly climbed into the Gawain's cockpit and began strapping herself in. Nobody, especially the viceroy herself, had expected the Black Knights to launch such a massive attack so soon. With the majority of her reinforcements still in transit from Europe, and Britannian morale shaken by the scale and ferocity of the enemy assault, Secilia was not confident that anyone other than herself achieve a decisive victory from the mess she was preparing to fly into.

"What is the status of our forces at the bridges?" She asked the moment she had established a connection to the G1 mobile base running operations at the front.

"Viceroy, large enemy ground forces are attacking from the north and west. Our air power is slowly driving them back in the north, but enemy armor is close to breaking through in the west." The chief communications officer aboard the G1 informed her. "

"Do we know what caused those enormous explosions earlier?"

"Negative, excellency. Whatever they attacked us with is exponentially stronger than anything in our arsenal. We have new imagery of the blast sites, uploading now." the comms officer informed her. A pair of smaller screens appeared in front of her, showing two massive craters filled with sea water. Secilia stared in awe at the scale of the devastation for a few seconds before issuing new orders.

She would never show it, but she was starting to feel a tendril of fear in the back of her mind. The Black Knights had just demonstrated that they have the ability to unleash unimaginable destructive power whenever and wherever they want. She wondered if they were too late, and if this was the super weapon that William Black had warned her about.

"I want all of our forward units to pull back toward areas with large civilian populations immediately. If the Black Knights have more of those weapons, I doubt they would use them in such a way that could cause massive civilian casualties."

"Understood excellency, relaying orders now."

The Gawain's diagnostics showed all systems functioning normally and both energy fillers at full charge. The large knightmare picked up its scythe from its resting place against an adjacent tree. The float system came online and the system's six arms began to glow as they released plasma to generate lift. The Gawain rose off of the palace atop the government building and began flying toward the failing western perimeter.

Another massive explosion rang out in the distance. Reports over radio channels indicated that HMS Snowdonia had just destroyed one of the main bridges with a very accurate artillery strike.

As she flew, she had a moment to think. The success of the Black Knights made real sense now that their leader was revealed as Lelouch vi Britannia, and not some mystery woman in a straight jacket. Like many others among Britannia's upper ranks, she had seen his powerful mind in action as he went about regularly humiliating chess grandmasters before his ninth birthday.

It was in that moment that she realized the mistake they had been making all along. Britannia had always thought the Black Knights were nothing more than another resistance movement, something that could be effortlessly smashed when the time was right. But this was something else. She was facing a real strategic genius with a real army and unbelievable weapons of mass destruction.

Secilia couldn't help but admire his strength. Going from an exiled child left for dead to waging open warfare against the most powerful empire in history at the head of his own private military. This was exactly what she had been waiting for; the chance to prove herself against the strongest enemy in the world. Secilia had her mind set, this would be her finest hour, or her final hour.

* * *

AN: Changes made in revision: several hundred errors corrected throughout the entire story. A lot of dialogue tweaked to be (hopefully) better. Removed a lot of old notes that did nothing more than inflate the word count. Removed the lemon (tried to rewrite it, but ultimately decided to leave it out. As far as the story is concerned, nothing changes) Only 1 retcon, HMS Edinburgh is now HMS Yorktown.

Update:9/13/2012: Fixed a few errors and changed a tiny bit of wording to sound smoother.


	19. Amid the Falling Snow

I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

AN: This chapter starts about one minute before the end of chapter 18. Also, the Ganymede is a fully functional knightmare frame that is not externally powered in this story.

At some point, maybe after I finish the story, I will make an information chapter loaded with details and back story. This is getting a little more crazy than I thought. Longest chapter ever and it's still not over yet. I could have just kept writing it into a twenty thousand word monstrosity now that I have more free time, but I think I've kept you waiting for too long.

* * *

Tenshi 7-1 tapped a series of icons on the screen in front of him. A weapons diagnostics message appeared, indicating to him that all of his Tempest's weapons systems were ready to fire. He looked around at the 83 other fighters accompanying him on the way to Tokyo. The huge formation was flying twelve thousand meters above the ground, above the thick cloud cover. He glanced up and saw two flights of five strategic bombers a thousand meters higher against the blue sky.

The sight was nearly overwhelming for him. Only a few months earlier he had been just another rebel fighter armed with nothing more than a second hand rifle that was probably older than he was. Fighting the Empire meant taking a few shots at some Britannian soldier and running away before they could be caught. The concept of victory was nothing more than a distant dream that never seemed to get any closer.

Now, he was strapped into the cockpit of the most advanced combat aircraft in the world, flying toward the unfolding battle at high speed. Real victory, an unimaginable thought only half a year earlier, was actually within their reach.

Suddenly, the thick clouds of the winter storm under them ended, and he could see the earth below again. Directly in front of him was the capital, bathed in the light of the golden sunset. He did not blink as he stared in awe at the most beautiful sight his eyes had ever known for a full ten seconds. The serenity of the moment was broken by the Tempest's HUD. Hundreds of red indicators appeared in his view, showing the locations of aircraft transmitting Britannian military IFF signals.

The vast airforce coming into view on their screens was largely comprised of ground attack and transport aircraft. The Britannian military had up until this point no reason to deploy any fighters equipped for air superiority, as total air dominance had been normal for them over Area 11 for years. The advanced targeting computers in the Tempest fighters acquired and tracked 394 unstealthy aircraft that were broadcasting Britannian IFF signals. The systems rapidly shared the data over their secure network and automatically divided the enemy contacts among the 84 fighter aircraft. Suggested firing solutions appeared on the pilots' screens as they began to descend toward the city. The order was given to engage as they lowered to nine thousand meters. Each pilot armed and fired two missiles as they split into their twenty one flights and dove to assault the sky above the capital.

* * *

The four hundred Black Knights on the second northern bridge were getting what was by far the worst of the battle so far. The world to their right exploded without warning as twin railgun strikes from HMS Snowdonia obliterated the nearby bridge that their comrades had just managed to take control of. The hypersonic shells connected with the structure with enough kinetic energy to literally disintegrate it, along with the three hundred troops still on it. As if that wasn't enough, they were exchanging fire with Britannian armor a few hundred meters to their left, as well as enemy forces at the entrance to the city.

A flight of twenty Shortsword gunships emerged from above Tokyo and moved to attack them in two groups of ten, one on each side. The battered forces on the bridge defiantly returned fire with everything they could aim up. Knightmare assault rifles, secondary machine guns on their tanks and APCs, and even a lone Badger AD vehicle, its five barreled cannon glowing red from continuous fire all focused their attention skyward.

The Britannian gunship pilots did their best to avoid the incoming storm of hot metal, weaving around the bursts of anti air fire. They began pouring their own high explosive rounds and volleys of armor piercing rockets onto the vehicles. Several of them exploded into large fireballs as they failed to withstand the concentrated punishment. The Black Knights' barrage began to weaken as weapons overheated and vehicles were destroyed by the merciless Britannian counterattack. The blue forces pushed harder, feeling victory was near as they saw their enemy weaken. But it was not to be.

The Black Knights saw twenty seven huge explosions ripple up the Britannian controlled bridge to their left, annihilating the enemy armor that had been tearing into them from the side. Moments later, the bridge collapsed as the damage of the carpet bombing proved too great for the structure to bear.

Before they even had a chance to ask themselves what had just happened, dozens of missiles descended from the heavens above, destroying the majority of the air power that only moments ago had been hammering the coverless bridge. Three of the gunships remained over their position, the storm of missiles having spared them. They got to launch one last burst of cannon and rocket fire before streams of explosive cannon rounds ripped through them from above. Cheers erupted from the survivors as they looked up to see a flight of four apparently Britannian air supremacy fighters tear through the remaining Shortswords.

The same story was being repeated all around the city, as the surprise airstrike gutted the defenseless and unprepared Britannian flyers. The Black Knights pushed forward with renewed strength as the Tempests shattered Britannia's dominance of the skies above them.

* * *

The battle unfolding around Tokyo was not just a clash of military powers. It was a clash of ideologies, and more importantly to Lelouch, a chance to prove through decisive action that his was right. To that end, Tokyo was his stage and the battle his grand performance. As much as defeating the Imperial forces was his military objective, putting on an unforgettable show was of even greater importance to the prince. He had to prove to the world that his vision of unity was stronger than Britannia's division and oppression. Of course, there was no better way to do that then to let the people see for themselves.

To achieve this, he intended to provide live news coverage around the globe. With Diethard's actions having effectively crippled the operational capability of HiTV, the BBC was left as the only broadcaster in a position to provide the level of coverage he needed. As the battle raged in the sky above Tokyo, a single unarmed civilian VTOL aircraft was given permission to remain in the air. The BBC news aircraft flew above the battlespace, a single Black Knight along with them to provide real time updates. They were about to go live just as the swarm of captured fighters arrived over the city.

Vincent Ashcroft double checked his mic as his camera man indicated that he was ready to start the broadcast. Just at the very moment they went live to an audience of millions, a deafening noise washed over their aircraft. Behind Vincent, a large Britannian military transport plane flew past them, smoke and flame pouring out behind it. A second later, a pair of Tempest fighters followed behind the dying transport. Two more bursts of cannon fire lanced across the sky, and the Britannian plane began disintegrating as it fell to earth. He turned back toward the camera as the fireball fell out of sight.

"This is Vincent Ashcroft coming to you live from the burning skies above Area 11. Less than an hour ago, the Order of Black Knights launched a sudden and decisive assault against the capital with overwhelming land and air power. As you can see behind me, rebel forces have taken complete control of the sky, and are raining death from above on Britannian units without contest..."

* * *

Lelouch had a live feed of the news broadcast on one of his cockpit's secondary screens. While he was pleased with the quality, he definitely wished that Diethard could be the one handling the coverage. He had other, more important things to worry about though, namely the fact that one of his mechanized infantry units was approaching Ashford Academy. Six minutes later than the numerically inferior, but still powerful Britannian force that had arrived to secure the area.

The Viceroy had made the same conclusion that he did, that Ashford was an excellent location for a forward operating base. The school not located within the main city structure, but was still close enough that vaporizing the area would cost thousands of innocent lives. It would be potentially devastating if the Viceroy's forces were able to use the academy as a staging area for an assault on the Black Knight's southern flank.

He paused for a second before opening another channel. Lelouch thought back to what he had said earlier, and decided that he had to trust Milly. If she had followed his order, there should be no civilians still on the surface at the school.

"Shinigami 1-4, break formation and perform an attack pass over Ashford Academy. Arm AGMs and clear out the enemy armor and knightmares on the campus ahead of our ground assault. Try to avoid collateral damage where possible." Zero ordered one of his strategic bomber crews.

* * *

In the underground warehouse beneath the academy, Milly had followed the instructions she was given, despite being furious when Lelouch hung up on her. The President's rational side understood that Lelouch would not have asked her to do this unless he thought the battle would reach the academy.

And so here she was, doing her best to keep order from atop the Ganymede knightmare that was stored there. Magnetically strapped to the side of the aging frame was a modern KAR25G 25mm assault rifle. She was surprised to find such a weapon with the Ganymede, as it had never been intended to be a combat frame with its thin armor and open cockpit configuration. Milly's best guess was that he probably left it here as a last resort option while he was still attending school. If anything hostile did come down the loading ramp, she knew she probably wouldn't last ten seconds in real combat. Still, she was determined to protect the school's students in any way she could.

The Ganymede's greatest weakness in a combat situation was actually proving to be a boon at the moment. The open cockpit gave her great visibility, and allowed the people to see her. Although unprepared, she had performed an emergency evacuation of over a thousand people on the fly and had the situation seemingly under control. Milly smiled to herself, both surprised and happy with her performance so far. Her smile vanished in an instant when it felt like someone had crashed several runaway freight trains into the roof.

* * *

Fireteam Echo advanced along a hallway on the second floor of a building located at the north end of the campus. Although they did not expect to find anything hiding inside, they still had orders to sweep the structure. Sergeant Matthew Sanders, Claire Ennerdale, and Jim Frost reached the last door in the hallway, which was marked at being a computer lab. It was just the three of them for now, as they had yet to find a replacement for the private that was critically injured during their last operation in Edogawa.

They stacked up and went through the door on the count of three, tactical lights on and weapons ready. Just as they expected, the room was dark and empty, barely lit by the idle power lights of the 40 computers and a few traces of fading daylight through the curtains.

"Hey sarge, don't you think its a little too quiet here?" Claire asked as she finished checking her side of the room.

"Yea. No students, no staff, no hostiles either. The academy should have still been open when this shit started."

"You think they could have evacuated everyone that fast?"

"Honestly, not a chance in hell they could have gotten so many people out of here in that kind of time frame without being noticed."

Sanders was an inch from keying his mic to report that they had found nothing but empty rooms when the windows shattered and they were thrown to the floor by the force of a powerful explosion outside. Then another, and another, and 19 more after that in rapid succession. The room that was clean and ordered only moments ago was now a twisted mess of shattered glass and destroyed computer equipment.

"Status!" Sanders yelled out as the string of blasts ended.

"I'm good!" Frost instantly reported as he picked himself up.

"Claire?"

"I'll be fine, sir." Corporal Ennerdale replied as she pulled out a small shard of glass that had been embedded in her left cheek, freeing a trail of blood to run down her face. "What the fuck just happened?"

"We just got the shit beat out of us." Sanders told them as he got back on his feet, slightly awed at the sight of all of their armored vehicles in the courtyard having been reduced to burning metal coffins. "Looks like an airstrike to me. I haven't seen any artillery precise enough to do that."

"So they got our bombers too now? Wonderful." Claire observed. Sanders was about to tell her to cut the sarcasm when the unmistakable sound of automatic rifle fire reached their ears.

"Where's it coming from?"

"Enemy infantry, 200 meters!" Frost called out. Being the only one of the three with his helmet's visor down, the built in system quickly found the distance and direction of the incoming rounds. Red outlines appeared in his view as the image recognition software identified a dozen armed soldiers and quickly transmitted their positions.

"Weapons free!" Sanders called to the two before sending a situation update and a request for new orders.

"My two favorite words!" Claire shot back as she pushed shards of broken glass off the window frame and rested her rifle on it. A second later she put two rounds down range, one hitting her target's chest armor, and the other nearly decapitating him with a neck shot. A storm of suppressive fire came their way as the other Black Knights tried to reach cover.

Sanders and Frost each took a window and opened fire with their assault rifles as Ennerdale continued pouring terrifyingly accurate shots on the enemy soldiers. Of the twelve that started running for cover, four didn't make it.

* * *

Being the only Black Knight equipped with a flight capable knightmare frame, Euphemia li Britannia found herself in a dominant position. Her newly completed knightmare, now repainted with a similar black and pink scheme as her old Gloucester, hovered in the sky over Ashford Academy. From this vantage point, she was feeding real time video and a damage assessment back to Lelouch's Gekka.

They were both impressed by what they saw in Ashford Academy's courtyard. The airstrike had destroyed all twenty three armored vehicles and knightmare frames that were visible from the air. Euphemia could see through her infrared camera as Black Knights advanced onto school grounds and began exchanging fire with enemy infantry inside the buildings. She watched as the tiny flashes of tracer rounds danced around the campus with her sensors set to white hot.

Seconds later, a burst of flashes much brighter than the common 6mm assault rifle rounds caught her attention. She quickly identified the source; three Sutherlands that had either been missed by the bombing run or had arrived afterward. She immediately dove toward them. In complete contrast to the stealthy Tempest fighters, her knightmare was very visible and intimidating as it's flight system trailed a red streak of superheated plasma. The enemy Sutherlands were quick to spot the new incoming threat and shifted their fire skyward. Unfortunately for them, what Euphemia's knightmare lacked in speed and stealth was made up for with amazing agility. The flight system's ability to instantly direct its full thrust in any direction made dodging the incoming rounds easy. The unit's wrist cannons returned fire as it landed and charged forward.

The lead Britannian knightmare scored multiple direct hits on the incoming unit's chest, blasting away the paint and causing minor damage to the outer layer of armor. The enhanced Gekka's screeching chain sword lashed out at the offending frame, effortlessly slicing through the head and right arm with a pair of lightning quick strikes. The pilot immediately ejected. The highly modified Gekka grabbed the remains of the frame and shoved it toward the other two units, which forced them to separate as they dodged it. She fired both wrist cannons simultaneously at them, expecting two more easy victories. The Sutherland on her left crumbled under the assault, but the pilot on the right managed to dodge and execute a counterattack. The blue knightmare rushed forward into melee range, using its stun tonfas to block a sword slash before forcing his opponent to the ground. The black frame responded with a vicious left handed punch that shattered the head mounted factsphere.

As Euphemia got her knightmare up off of the ground, her persistent opponent grabbed onto it from behind. She almost began to perform a complex maneuver to shake the Sutherland off, but then she remembered Rakshata telling her that the flight system that was currently pressed up against the enemy frame worked by emitting superheated plasma in excess of 2500 degrees Celsius. The melting point of the Sutherland's titanium based frame was just under 1700 degrees. She hit the accelerator and magnetically concentrated hell flared out of her Gekka's back. With a movement of her right thumb, she used the system's thrust vectoring controls to boil straight through the Sutherland's arms. The dual streams of plasma hit the sides of the cockpit, instantly raising the temperature inside to lethal levels.

As the final unit fell, she turned back toward the courtyard to help the advancing infantry. She turned the final corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Standing directly across from her was the Z-01 Lancelot holding its twin crimson MVS blades, surrounded by the burning wreckage of five dismembered Burais.

* * *

While Britannian forces were still managing to hold in the north, the western side of the city was quickly becoming a very different story. Black Knights tanks rolled off of the bridge and into the city itself for the first time. Their only remaining opposition in front of them were a pair of blue Panthers, crippled and on fire but refusing to admit defeat. The burning tanks continued to return fire with every functioning weapon they had, their main cannons roaring in defiance.

The four Type 10 tanks at the front of the push fired forward as they advanced, silencing the opposition with kinetic penetration rounds. Enemy resistance lulled for a moment and the advancing forces took the opportunity to rush forward and seize their first foothold within the Britannian city's superstructure. APCs unloaded their infantry to begin clearing the surrounding buildings just as the first unit of Burai knightmares came up behind them.

Britannian reinforcements, squads of Sutherlands, began pouring out through the narrow side streets between the buildings and immediately opened fire on the assembling Black Knights from three directions. They had surprise on their side, as the third layer of the city above them had prevented aircraft from monitoring their movements. Black armor and knightmares returned fire without hesitation and the battle was now raging in the city itself.

* * *

Cornelia li Britannia sometimes wondered to herself if she was born a few centuries too late. Military commanders in the modern world were expected to sit in a command center and hand out orders. Most of them were happy to stay back safely behind the thick armor of a G1 while ordering their troops to go and die for them. In absolute contrast, Cornelia was at heart a warrior that would have felt right at home on an ancient battlefield. Despite being a princess and by all accounts a very beautiful woman, there was nothing she craved more than front line combat. Not only did she love it, she was also unbelievably good at it. She could count the number of people that had personally ended more lives in battle than her on one hand, and it made her furious that there were any at all.

Cornelia pushed the accelerator on her custom Gloucester, weaving around friendly forces as she rushed toward the fight. As she got within a hundred meters of the front line, the jump jets on the sides of her cockpit flared to life, propelling the black knightmare over the front edge of the Black Knights' advance and straight into the enemy.

Twin MVS broadswords lit up as the unit performed a brutal jet assisted downward slash on the nearest Sutherland. The crimson blades sliced through the enemy unit, detonating the Core Luminous into a large fireball. She brought up the left arm's Blaze Luminous shield and soaked up rounds from her next target that was now backing away. The Gloucester performed a jet assisted lunge and slammed the blue frame with the shield before driving a sword through the cockpit. The remaining three knightmares began to retreat down the narrow side street.

"N 13, Advance 100 meters northeast and cut off their escape two streets down." She ordered the squad of Burais that was close behind her. They moved as she ordered along another street, and within 20 seconds the three survivors were trapped between her and five vengeful Japanese pilots. They tried to force their way out, but their hunter was much faster. She closed the distance with blinding speed, slicing through two of the Sutherlands at once. Unable to fire without the chance of hitting their commander in the cramped quarters, the Burais stood and blocked the exit. The final Britannian pilot turned and charged with stun tonfas at the ready. He rushed forward with a downward strike. The Gloucester dropped the sword in its right hand, instead opting to catch the Sutherland's arm to use his momentum against him. As Cornelia ended up behind her enemy, she forced him against a nearby wall and delivered a deadly upward thrust through the cockpit.

* * *

Gilbert Guilford raced through the streets with six supporting Sutherlands as part of the force the Viceroy had tasked with halting the enemy push into western Tokyo. His fresh Gloucester led the charge with a golden lance. They hastily moved toward the front line, not expecting to face the enemy so far from the captured bridge.

Four Burai frames suddenly burst out from the side streets directly in front of them and began spraying explosive rounds into their ranks. All seven knightmares quickly moved to attack the threat, not realizing that another two enemy units had circled around behind them. A pair of Chaos Mines were thrown as the four now damaged frames retreated back from where they came from.

The tightly packed blue frames had little room to dodge in the middle of the street. Hundreds of armor piercing projectiles sprayed out from the grenades, shredding their makeshift front line. The Burai that threw them raised a heavy recoilless rifle and fired at a damaged Sutherland before retreating into cover. The knightmare exploded from the impact, obscuring their vision with smoke and fire as they shot back with their rifles.

Two bright blue lights were suddenly visible through the smoke, and before they had a chance to react, a black Gloucester smashed into a Sutherland and shoved it into another. Crimson broadswords suddenly slashed through both frames without effort, alerting the Britannians to what they were really fighting. Well aware of the weapons' power at melee range, they backed up and engaged with their assault rifles.

At the same time the damaged Burais re appeared and forced the blue forces into a double sided engagement in the street. They seemed to quickly recover from the surprise of the ambush, and the remaining Sutherlands focused their fire on the attacking Burais. The purple Gloucester leading the force turned and charged at the black one.

Guilford immediately recognized the enemy frame from the battle at the prison in Chiba. He knew his lance could match the MVS swords, at least temporarily. But he was more concerned with who was sitting in the opposing knightmare's cockpit. This was the same knightmare Euphemia had used during that battle. For the first time in a long time, Guilford felt indecisive. He couldn't stand the thought of being defeated, but at the same time the very idea of killing Euphemia sickened him to the core. The princess was someone that he had spent most of his military career ready to defend to the death.

He was violently pulled from his thoughts as the black Gloucester launched a pair of slash harkens toward him. He parried both and tried to close the distance, his training and combat experience taking over as his enemy attacked. The veteran knight launched a counterattack with his lance, only to have it expertly dodged as the black frame leaped over him. He immediately brought the lance up in a defensive stance, blocking a sword slash from above. The MVS left a blackened gash in the golden weapon.

Guilford reversed his frame and opened fire with the assault rifle its left hand. He knew both from the battle at the prison and from Suzaku's combat record that he could not afford to take a hit from one of those blades. His target's left wrist began to emit an emerald glow and his rounds started to bounce off of a diamond of green light.

The Gloucester again used its jet pack to lunge forward with incredible speed, giving Guilford only a fraction of a second to evade. He barely got out of the way, and turned to see the black frame perform a controlled fall and use the jet thrust to come to a nearly instant stop. It had become quite obvious that his Gloucester was simply not fast enough to get away. He was about to order the remaining Sutherlands to perform a fighting retreat when a trio of large explosive shells lanced past him, tearing into them from the rear. The last of his surviving pilots were forced to eject as their units were reduced to burning wrecks.

He could not understand why, but he began to doubt that he was fighting Euphemia. Guilford had watched the footage from that battle many times, and observed that Euphemia's attacks were very strict and precise. She did very little improvising, instead opting for well executed, but predictable strikes. The way that this enemy was fighting felt more familiar to him. The feeling was reinforced as he defended against a series of quick and aggressive slashes that were anything but precise. He forced himself to stop thinking about it and concentrated on surviving as an MVS blade passed mere centimeters in front of his frame's chest.

Guilford surged forward with a powerful sweeping strike. Regardless of who was piloting the black Gloucester, he knew he had no choice but to fight his way out. His opponent reacted in a way he had never anticipated. The enemy unit activated its jet pack and rushed forward inside of his swing and grabbed onto the shaft of the lance. It got a leg behind him and neutralized the attack while forcing his frame down onto the ground in one fluid motion. He found himself unable to eject with both crimson blades perilously close to the sides of his cockpit. A secure communications window opened on his main screen, on a frequency that very few people knew. Defeated and left with no other options, he at least wanted to know who his executioner would be. Guilford activated the window, half expecting to find out that he had been wrong and it really was Euphemia that had beaten him.

"Well fought Guilford. I would say I'm impressed, but I expected nothing short of excellence from you." The defeated knight found himself staring at the warrior princess he had devoted his life to serving. No wonder he felt familiarity with his opponent.

"Cornelia! I never could have imagined you would betray Britannia as well. Why?" Guilford was stuck somewhere in between astonished, surprised, and shocked. This was an outcome he had never even considered. Guilford had not seen the beginning of Zero's speech, and had not been told about Cornelia after the nuclear attacks stole the everyone's attention. As far as he knew, she was still being held as a POW.

"It was anything but easy for me. But I chose my country over my family once, and it was the greatest mistake I ever made. I failed them. Marianne, Lelouch... Euphemia. I thought that I could not even protect those that I loved most. Not a moment went by in the last seven years that I did not wish for a second chance. It's not every day that you actually get one, and I certainly don't intend to waste it."

"Your highness...I..."

"You were my first and greatest knight. You have always been there for me, Guilford. When I was broken and defeated I turned to you, my only light in the darkness. You always protected me, defended me, and stood with me whenever I needed you. I could have never asked for someone better. Do not think even for a moment that it was not by design that you are still alive in a fully functional Gloucester." Cornelia's gaze cut right through him. "Do you remember what you said when I knighted you all those years ago? You swore your life and allegiance specifically to me." Cornelia's ice cold stare softened into a warm, almost comforting smile. "And Guilford my knight, I have not yet released you from my service."

"But I failed you. You were captured alive at the prison. How could you possibly want me back after such a disgrace?" Guilford's mind unconsciously ran through the fight in that courtyard again. He saw Cornelia defeated and at the mercy of the Black Knights while he was powerless to stop them. It was the worst possible dishonor he could have imagined. The princess he had sworn to defend to with his life was carried off by the enemy, and he was still alive watching them get away with it. How could she give him a second chance? Cornelia heard his words and laughed at him.

"You think you failed me? You fought with the ferocity of an enraged demon to protect me that night. You were hopelessly outmatched against Kallen and her Guren, and yet you stood and fought a battle that you could never have won to buy me all the time that you were able to. You lasted minutes where most would have fallen in seconds. Guilford, you never failed me. You did the best you could, and that is all that matters.

Forget the honor and codes and traditions. I don't care if you think you're worthy of being my knight or not, it's just not the same without you." Cornelia's Gloucester sheathed the right sword and put its hand out." Now get up, Gilbert. I need you."

* * *

Euphemia's heart rate spiked as the Lancelot jumped out in front of the wreckage of his latest victims. The unmistakable screech of land spinners accompanied the white knight as he rushed forward toward his next target at impossible speeds. Euphemia did not know if Suzaku knew who he was about to attack, but it really didn't matter much at the moment. As good as her knightmare was, the Lancelot was a true seventh generation killing machine. She could match neither the machine nor the pilot in a head on fight for very long. Still, there was not enough room to escape, and that left only one option.

The Gekka reversed hard and opened fire with its wrist cannons. The white knight's energy shields effortlessly absorbing the attack as it closed to deliver maximum damage with twin MVS swords. Euphemia's chain sword came up at the ready, as there was no way to prevent the Lancelot from getting into melee range. The white frame got within 50 meters and suddenly shifted his shields to his right as a torrent of explosive rounds and 70mm grenades hit him from the side.

Euphemia looked to her left just in time to see the unmistakable shape of the Guren drop a smoking assault rifle from its left hand and draw a dagger. The red knightmare charged forward at blinding speed and lashed out with her silver claw.

* * *

Lelouch's eyes were constantly shifting around the array of screens in front of him. His Gekka's displays were showing real time information from Black Knights forces in and around the city. He was hard at work directing the entire battle, micromanaging entire units in much the same way he did with individual pilots in Shinjuku so very long ago.

Engagements were raging all around the area. Although his Black Knights' push was stalled by heavy resistance in the north, units led by Cornelia were punching deep into the city from the west. Enemy resistance was strong and coordinated, but not solid enough to halt her advance.

His plan to use Britannia's own air power against them had been somewhat successful. His new airforce had taken control of the sky, but there was little they could do to exploit the advantage. Most of the defending Britannian forces were inside the city, and so protected from air attacks. After the strike on Ashford Academy, it was no longer a secret that the Black Knights were in possession of heavy ground attack capabilities. His bombers were left orbiting the area at high altitude looking for targets that knew better than to stick their heads out.

As good as he felt about the successes so far, he knew that it was mostly because the enemy had been caught by surprise. As the battle got underway inside the city, the Black Knights would have to play Britannia's game. For the better part of two centuries it had been proven time and again that the Britannian military had no equal in direct combat. Not since the days of Rome had there been a force that could so consistently shatter enemy armies in battle.

But the Black Knights also possessed much of what made their enemy so dominate. Many of them were Britannian themselves, including a large number of experienced soldiers and commanders. Their opponents' strategies and tactics were common knowledge to them, and this could be turned into an advantage.

"Zero, Q1 and Q2 are engaging the Lancelot in the courtyard at Ashford Academy." One of the communications officers at the Narita base's command center appeared on screen to inform him. "It appears that General Kururugi is fighting them to a stalemate."

"Thank you. Keep me informed on the status of that engagement." Her image smiled and disappeared. Lelouch felt a little bit better at hearing the news. If the Lancelot could be kept out of the city it would give him a sizable advantage. There could only be so long that Suzaku could hold against both Kallen and Euphemia. With a single mistake he would either be defeated or forced to retreat.

Lelouch looked at the screen to his left, which was dominated by a very detailed map of western Tokyo. Infantry forces that had exploited Cornelia's armored breakthrough were sweeping south, and were now fighting for control of the city's largest hospital complex. Her tanks and supporting knightmare frames were moving at a snail's pace along the central road toward the Viceroy's Palace, but they were still advancing despite their enemy's unrelenting determination to drive them back.. That was most likely in no small part due to having Cornelia in command of the offensive. As someone who had led Britannian armies into battle with overwhelming success for years, she was easily the most qualified Black Knight to destroy one.

Lelouch also had a suspicion that she was making heavy use of her Geass to empower the forces around her. He had to wonder how much of her success was Cornelia's and how much could be attributed to Geass. Or perhaps she had developed such a good understanding of her Absolute Inspiration that she had already developed tactics around its use. Either way he was very satisfied with her performance.

* * *

Luciano Bradley, backed up by the Glaston Knights, emerged up onto the third level of the city. They were risking air attack to gain an advantage over the enemy units swarming into the city from the west. They came up to an opening around a series of tall buildings that rose up through the third tier. They quickly descended down to the second level with the intention of flanking the enemy.

The six Britannian Gloucesters quickly moved toward the main highway that was supporting the Black Knights' advance into the city. When they reached an open air courtyard in the center of the cluster of office towers, they immediately came under fire from the other side. Thirsty for battle, the Knight of Ten charged forward with his white and red Benowyc Gloucester. He easily dodged the incoming fire as he closed the distance.

The white Gloucester readied an MVS sword, expecting to get a few easy kills at melee range. Instead of the Sutherlands or Burais he was expecting to find, Bradley found himself face to face with a knightmare similar to the Guren he had faced before. Its custom black paint scheme and heated chain sword telling him this was no ordinary unit. Around them, four more silver ones with identical weapons rushed out of cover to engage the Glaston Knights. He recognized the units from an intelligence report about the raid at Nerima. Four sword wielding Gekka frames and one unique commander. It clicked in his head who he was fighting, and Luciano smiled at finally getting the chance to kill somebody worth killing. A single slash harken shot forward, and the Gloucester knocked it away with its energy shield.

"You'll have to do much better than that if you expect to miracle yourself away from me!" Bradley yelled over an open channel as he rushed forward. Todou's face appeared on his screen.

"So undisciplined, Vampire." The veteran Japanese soldier taunted back with an unnervingly calm appearance. Bradley was visibly surprised, he was not used to seeing his victims so unafraid.

Todou effortlessly dodged three incoming sword strikes and countered with a burst from his Gekka's wrist mounted assault weapon. Bradley deflected the rounds with his Blaze Luminous and rushed forward to continue his aggressive attack.

* * *

Claire hit the a button on her rifle's grip, and the spent magazine fell to the ground with a splat as it landed in the pool of blood around the dead enemy soldier she was stepping over. A full 20 round box clicked into place and she chambered a fresh round. The powerful and precise weapon had punched right through two of the four Black Knights laying dead on the floor, their armor proving useless anywhere there was a gap in their hardened ballistic plates.

"How are we gonna get out of here sarge? Enemy troops are crawling all over this campus." Frost asked as they lined up near the next door. He looked out of the nearby window and saw that it had started snowing.

"There's a series of service tunnels under the Academy. There should be an elevator that can take us down there in an adjacent building. From there we should be able to get into the city's underground service network and back to our lines." Sanders explained.

"OK, so how do we get over there? The most advanced knightmare frames in the world are fighting it out right outside this door." Claire pointed out, tapping the wooden door with the barrel of her rifle.

"It's about 30 meters to the next building. I doubt those knightmares will see us if we run fast enough."

"And what happens if they do see us?" Frost wondered aloud.

"We run faster." Claire said before Sanders could respond.

"Even if they do see us, they are too busy fighting each other to care about some infantry. We should be fine."

The three of them stacked up on the door with Sanders on point. His hand counted down from five. At zero, he opened the door and they sprinted as fast as they could over to the next building, smashed in a window, and climbed inside. They checked the room in a fraction of a second with the assistance of their helmets.

"Alright, we need to find the elevator fast. Split up and search the ground floor. Mark the location if you find it." Sanders ordered.

The three of them began to move out from the classroom they broke in to. The power to the building had been cut, reducing visibility inside to almost nothing. The only light coming into the building was from the fighting outside and the faint glow from other buildings. Luckily for them, their advanced helmets were equipped with high grade night vision technology.

Claire stepped out of the room and turned right with her rifle at the ready. She slowly crept down the hallway, the IR laser beam coming from her rifle sweeping around as she checked everywhere for potential targets. She came to a T intersection and quickly swung her weapon to check the right side first. A footstep sound behind her gave a fraction of a second warning time that she was not alone.

An enemy soldier barely two meters behind her tried to raise his assault rifle. Claire spun around as fast as she could and knocked the weapon aside with her own rifle. The Black Knight rushed forward and got inside her minimum firing distance before she could get a shot off. He grabbed the battle rifle with both hands and slammed her against the wall. It was then that she got a good look at the enemy soldier. The man attacking her was a head taller and almost twice her size.

She tried to reach her pistol, but her right arm was too tightly pinned. The Black Knight pulled a combat knife with his right hand and tried to stab underneath her armor's solid chest plate. Claire grabbed his wrist with her left hand and tried with all the might she could muster to hold him back. Despite her desperate effort, the blade kept coming, and was now poking through the fabric of her uniform. She tried to think of something, anything she could do.

Just as the tip of the blade began to pierce her abdomen, Claire noticed that the enemy soldier's neck was exposed. He was making no attempt to restrain her head. She pushed herself forward, and the knife went almost an inch deeper. Claire opened her mouth as wide as she could and bit into the man's neck with adrenaline boosted strength. His attack weakened, and she bit harder, tearing into him with all the force her jaw could exert. Her teeth got a good grip and tore a large section of his neck out. Her attacker screamed as loud as he could. She bit down again, puncturing his throat with her desperate and savage counterattack. His scream died out as he began to drown as his own blood started flowing down into his throat. Claire bit down one more time, and the soldier let go of the knife as he fell over. The blade was embedded so far into her that it stayed in on its own.

She slumped down against the wall, bleeding heavily from the stab wound. Claire finally got her pistol out and shot the dying man twice. She looked around and didn't see any enemy reinforcements coming, so she lifted up the bottom of her shirt and quickly wished she hadn't. She felt a cold chill as she saw how bad the wound really was. As the world began to fade to black, she heard a few shots and then Sanders and Frost calling her name. Her last thought before losing consciousness was hoping they would find her before she bled out.

* * *

Suzaku was quickly becoming exhausted. He had been fighting two against one for nearly ten minutes without pause. In those ten minutes of intense combat, none of the three knightmares had managed to land a single hit on one another.

He jumped out of the way as the Guren slashed at him with its deadly claw. The Lancelot countered with a swipe of an MVS only to find that Kallen was just too fast. Suzaku noticed that her reaction time had definitely improved since their last prolonged engagement. There were moments during this fight that he simply could not believe how fast she had become. Attacks that he was certain should have hit her simply didn't. What he didn't know was that she had been making extensive use of her Geass to boost her reaction time, and as a result was so drained that even staying conscious was challenging.

He was trying as hard as he could to find a way to win, but the second enemy knightmare present significantly reduces his available options. Suzaku had concluded that both the pilot and the knightmare frame were inferior to Kallen, but still good enough that they could not be ignored.

The Guren dodged away and the Lancelot's shields took another beating as they soaked up even more explosive rounds from the Gekka's wrist cannons. The shield status indicators flashed red as the Blaze Luminous generators became dangerously close to overloading. Even worse was the fact that this intense combat was draining his frame's energy at an unsustainable rate. At this pace he would run out of power in less than five minutes. Suzaku realized that there was no way he could beat them both, and quickly formulated an escape plan. He was certain Lloyd would be furious at him if he did manage to survive after pulling something like this in the Lancelot.

"I'm sorry, Kallen, but I will not be beaten. Not here. Not now." Suzaku whispered as he prepared to act.

Suzaku waited until the crimson knightmare slashed again, and this time he blocked it with the frame's left arm. The Guren clamped down and fired her radiation surge. Kururugi had decided to gamble on one final move as his last remaining chance. He left himself completely exposed to the Guren's dagger and the Gekka behind him. Lancelot detached its left arm, and slashed with the sword in its right hand, severing the Guren's radiation emitter while it was active. The weapon detonated, and the Britannian brigadier general followed up with a slash through the enemy unit's right leg and a final thrust through his opponent's frame. The crimson knightmare exploded into a fireball as the MVS blade cut through its vital systems. He quickly hit the accelerator and tried to put as much distance between him and the enemy Gekka as he could before the white knightmare ran out of energy.

* * *

The lack of air control above Tokyo was a critical factor in Britannia's inability to halt the enemy's unrelenting advance. In response, the Viceroy had the creative idea of ordering the heavily armed HMS Snowdonia into Tokyo Bay to provide anti air cover for ground operations.

Captain Stewart Tanis observed the situation as his ship came within visual range of the city. His orders were to get close enough to bring the ships powerful anti air capabilities to bear against the Black Knights. While he would normally have had the ship hold position further out, all of the enemy aircraft were equipped with the most advanced stealth technology in the sky. The Snowdonia's targeting systems would be unable to lock them from beyond visual range. Even this close, the stealth was so good that they were actually forced to override the targeting systems and fire the weapons manually.

As the battleship, along with her two escorting cruisers HMS Warhound and HMS Longbow, got five kilometers out from the city, Tanis gave the order to open fire. Gunners on all three ships switched their advanced weapons to manual control and began firing toward enemy aircraft above Tokyo. 57 mm dual purpose cannons and 20mm CIWS turrets began spraying a wall of hot rounds into the sky. The new threat did not go unnoticed by the Black Knights, and soon Tempest fighters moved to attack the ships.

The attacking fighter aircraft launched AGMs toward the ships and broke off before they got too close to their guns, the storm above providing additional visual cover as they escaped. Snowdonia's experimental tactical laser network responded to the threat at the speed of light, burning through all 40 of the incoming missiles before they even got close.

"Charge turrets one and two and prepare to fire on my order." Tanis ordered his weapons officers.

"Sir?" One of them asked, wondering why he was being told to bring the ships ultra heavy railguns online.

"I'd like to see them try to dodge this."

Twenty five seconds later, the Albion class battleship's two forward cannons were fully charged and ready to fire. Another wave of enemy aircraft were moving in for a second attack run. The operators had them targeted.

"Fire." The captain ordered. A deafening scream exploded out of the massive weapons that could be heard for miles in every direction. Massive blasts of superheated plasma shot out over the water as a round left each barrel at twenty times the speed of sound. What outwardly appeared as a pair of blue white beams disintegrated the target aircraft before the pilots even knew they were under attack.

Far above them in the night sky above the storm, five Stingrays were ordered to kill the ships below. Black Knights ground teams on shore relayed the exact positions of the enemy vessels to the strategic bombers. The bay doors opened, and over five hundred precision bombs began to fall toward their targets.

On the Snowdonia's bridge, alarms started blaring as the ship's sensors detected the incoming rain of munitions. "Captain, we have incoming from above! Too many to count!" A sensor operator shouted out. All of the ship's point defense weapons aimed up and formed a wall of lead and laser light above the ship. It was a magical sight as thousands of glowing shells rose from the ship to stop the falling bombs. The sky was ravaged as dozens of explosions filled the air above Snowdonia. Unfortunately for the Britannian battleship, it quickly became obvious that they could not intercept all of them.

"All hands, hunker down the ship and brace for severe impact!" Tanis ordered his entire crew. The defensive fire suddenly stopped and the turrets retreated behind their armored doors. A few seconds later 278 high explosive bombs tore into the Snowdonia's hull from above. The ship disappeared in a massive swarm of fireballs, smoke, and steam. The cruisers escorting her were ripped apart as they received over twenty hits each.

Half a minute later the cloud of smoke was vanquished by two massive plasma blasts. Snowdonia's forward devastatingly powerful cannons fired skyward. A few seconds later several of the ship's secondary weapons resumed firing. The battleship emerged from the veil, severely damaged and burning, but still firing what weapons weren't destroyed in the airstrike.

"Snowdonia, what's your status?" Secilia appeared on the bridge's main screen, amazed that the ship was even still afloat.

"Severe damage. We have multiple hull breaches, most of our secondary weapons have been destroyed, and our rear cannons are down." Tanis told her.

"Can the Snowdonia still move?"

"Engines and steering are still online, Excellency. Shall we continue on mission?"

"Negative, Captain. You're combat ineffective against those bombers, now turn around and get out of there before they come back around. We both know you wont survive another hit like that." The Viceroy informed him.

"Understood, we are RTB to Shikinejima."

* * *

"Zero, the enemy battleship has been severely damaged and is retreating." One of the bomber pilots informed him. Lelouch was definitely not expecting that ship to survive such a brutal attack, but taking it out of the fight was good enough for the moment. He was about to issue new orders to the second flight of bombers when the communications officer from earlier appeared on his screen. Previously, she had a warm appearance, and a smile. Now she looked like she had a gun to her head.

"Zero..." She closed her eyes and spoke as if her words were pure sorrow given form. "Q1 has been defeated in battle. The Guren was destroyed."

The whole world came to a sudden and complete stop. For a full ten seconds, Lelouch did not think, breathe, or blink. He froze as solid as arctic ice.

"...Can you repeat that?" He asked softly, almost unwilling to believe what he had just heard. Q1, Kallen, his invincible warrior, his friend, his lover, his knight, his everything. How could she possibly have fallen? The officer on the other end of the channel said nothing, the tears in her eyes telling the truth that was too painful to speak. The next few seconds felt as long as eternity. This was not a part of the plan. This was not supposed to happen. Was there truly no end to the amount of suffering the Empire could heap upon him?

"Lelouch!" Euphemia suddenly appeared on a separate channel. "The Guren's cockpit survived, and it's still transmitting vitals! Kallen's barely alive. Tell me what to do!" She rapidly asked in a state of near panic. Euphemia was desperate to save her friend, but had no idea how.

It is possible that Lelouch would have remained frozen and paralyzed, if the answer had not been staring him in the face. He was looking straight at the area map of southern Tokyo. The same part of the city in which his infantry had recently taken control of the largest hospital in Japan. Tokyo University Hospital was only five years old, built after the invasion from the ground up as the most advanced medical facility on this side of the world. He was already well aware that Britannian medical technology could create miracles, and he definitely needed one right now.

"Tokyo University Hospital, two kilometers north inside the city." Lelouch's voice was empty and hollow. The shock had not yet worn off.

Euphemia wasted no time. She had secured the Guren's cockpit and took off, pushing the flight system as fast as it could go. She had Kallen on the hospital's rooftop landing pad less than five minutes later. When she landed, a dozen doctors escorted by twenty heavily armed Black Knights were already there waiting for her.

* * *

"Viceroy, I've defeated the Guren and managed to escape, but the Lancelot is heavily damaged and running out of power." Suzaku reported.

"Abandon it Suzaku. We have nothing that can resupply you that far behind enemy lines. Move 600 meters north to the edge of the city's water channel on foot. I'll come pick you up."

"You don't need to put yourself at such risk to rescue me, Excellency." He protested.

"The situation has changed, Kururugi. I'll brief you when I get there." The connection was cut. Suzaku hesitated for a moment. The last thing he wanted to do was abandon the Lancelot. This knightmare frame had been the source of his transformation from worthless Honorary Britannian private to holding a position of actual power. The Lancelot, and his ability to pilot it, was what made him a force of nature on the battlefield. But the good soldier in him took over and overrode his emotions. He had new orders and a new objective.

Suzaku left his white knightmare in a small clearing on the edge of the Ashford Academy and set off into the snowy night on foot. Unfortunately for him, he was armed only with a pistol that had no extra magazines and was definitely not equipped to operate in a winter environment. He had never once before imagined a scenario in which he would have to abandon his knightmare. As he was not a part of the regular military knightmare corps, he did not have the same training that most pilots did. Like air crews, knightmare pilots were taught how to survive if they were stranded behind enemy lines. Training he definitely wished that he had right now.

He steadily advanced through the wooded area, his white pilot suit providing a reasonable measure of camouflage amid the falling snow. After a few minutes he came across enemy infantry. Three Black Knights were approximately 30 meters away, but they had not spotted him. Suzaku observed them from behind a tree. One of them was fiddling with a radio, and the other two began to walk off. His eyes followed their path and found that they were going back to a commandeered pickup truck.

Suzaku moved forward, being very careful to remain silent. He looked right and saw that the other two were still with the vehicle, partially obscured by a few trees. The lone Black Knight was apparently getting angry at his inability to fix the radio. As he continued to focus on the device, Kururugi stealthily got behind him and silently snapped his neck. He looked at the body and saw a pair of fragmentation grenades strapped to the man's belt. Suzaku pulled the pins, placed them on the ground, and positioned the body face down on top of them to prevent them from activating. He grabbed the assault rifle and two extra mags before retreating to his original position.

While he waited, he had a moment to reflect. When he stopped to think about it, it was disturbing to him how easily he could kill now. One part of him didn't want to kill anybody, but the other knew that he had to get past them, and he could not afford to waste time. It was the most effective option at the moment. His mind suddenly flashed back to the night that Zero had rescued him from the execution. He remembered what he said about Zero's methods and only caring about results. Suzaku began to understand, but was also afraid of where that kind of thinking would take him.

Four minutes later, the other two Black Knights returned from the truck. When they saw the third on the ground, they rushed over to him. As they rolled him over, the grenades activated and exploded on the two men who were well within the lethal radius. Suzaku quickly moved toward the truck, which was still running. He hopped in and drove the rest of the way to his designated extraction point.

Ten minutes later, the Gawain flew in low and fast along the waterway that was a part of Tokyo's tidal power network. It pulled up to the edge and the cockpit opened, revealing an empty front seat. He didn't need to wait for orders to jump in. The hatch immediately closed and they started moving.

"As I told you earlier, the situation has changed." Secilia began speaking from her position in the knightmare's upper seat. "His Majesty has been kept fully informed of developments since the battle began. 30 minutes ago, he accepted the possibility that Area 11 could fall to the Black Knights. He has decided to recall me to my duty as Knight of Two, and named Princess Carine as my immediate replacement in the role of Viceroy. She now has command of all remaining troops in the Area. I have been ordered to escort Prime Minister Schneizel back to the mainland. I'm not going to lie to you Suzaku. This battle has already been decided, and it is only a matter of time before we are defeated."

"There has to be something we can do! Some way to turn it around. There just has to be!" Suzaku turned around to face her.

"If this had been a week later then maybe we could have. As it stands, we are holding the line in the north just fine. The problem is that the Black Knights led by Cornelia cut through our western defenses and have taken almost a third of the city. To make it even worse, there's no way we can get any reinforcements since they can just use that super weapon on any large formations not in close proximity to populated areas." She glanced down from the controls.

"I see that look on your face, and I understand how badly you want to stay and fight. I do too, but His Majesty's orders are clear. Since you're not part of the Area's regular military, Carine cannot force you to stay, and I'm not about to hand you over to a bloodthirsty child that would only be all too willing to throw your life away for nothing."

* * *

Corporal Ennerdale groaned as she came back to life. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The gray concrete walls and flickering lights around her stood in contrast to the well designed, almost luxurious academy hallway that she had passed out it. It was then that she realized that she was laying on her back next to something warm. Her armor had been removed and was resting against the nearby wall along with her rifle. A jolt of pain suddenly reminded her of what happened.

"How do you feel?" She traced the source of the sound and found Sanders sitting close by.

"Like I just got stabbed." Sanders and Frost both laughed.

"We found the elevator and brought you down here. I'm no medic, but my brother is. I think I did a decent job of patching you up."

"Where are we?" Claire asked them weakly.

"About 200 meters into the service tunnels. Figured we would be pretty safe down here."

"How...long was I out?"

"Almost two hours. Radios don't work too well down here, so I have no idea what is happening up top. Either way, they probably think we're just as dead as the rest of the forces around the Academy." Sanders informed her.

"I'm sorry. If I was more careful we wouldn't be stuck down here."

"Claire, we saw what you did to that guy. Tore his neck out like a fucking zombie. He was the one that should have been more careful." Sanders said as he brought her a bottle of water, earning a smile in return.

"What are we going to do now, sir?" Frost asked as he peeked out of the maintenance room they were in.

"I stopped the bleeding, but I don't know how bad the internal damage is. She needs a real doctor, not someone with second hand first aid skills." Sanders assessed.

"I hate to be the bringer of doom and gloom, but there's no way in hell we can get her to a friendly medic anytime soon." Frost told him.

"Then we'll just have to settle for an unfriendly medic."

"Sarge?"

"The Black Knights won't kill us on sight if we're unarmed."

"What exactly are suggesting that we do?"

"Surrender and hope they are kind enough to give a Britannian soldier some much needed medical treatment. I won't try to force you to do this, but it's a chance I'm willing to take. I will not sit here and do nothing while my best friend is busy experiencing her slow and painful death." Sanders explained.

"Mat, what if they just shoot us?" Claire asked him.

"If they kill us anyway then so be it. At least I tried."

* * *

Your highness, the Black Knights are almost here. Our forces around the palace are under attack, we have to leave now!" Barnes urged Schneizel. Reports were now coming in that Cornelia's forward units were engaging the defensive positions surrounding the palace.

"I was told the Knight of Two was to escort me, where is she?" The second prince asked in his usual calm manner.

"The Gawain is inbound from the east; she will be here shortly. We have to get the Avalon in the air before they breach our defenses. The Knight of Two can link up with us once we are under way."

Schneizel, Barnes, along with a group of officials and royal guardsmen quickly ascended the loading ramp onto the Avalon. The crew were already on board and had the ship ready to fly at a moment's notice. Schneizel ordered them to lift off as soon as the loading ramp had finished closing.

The 200 meter long airship's float systems began to glow as they came online, and soon the ship had lifted off of the palace's roof. It hovered for a few moments before slowly turning northeast. Just as it began to move forward, the Gawain flew in and landed on top of the Avalon. It had taken them much longer to fly the long way around in an attempt to avoid the enemy Tempest fighters that still controlled the air above the capital. With the aid of the snow storm, they managed to reach the airship uncontested.

"Suzaku, I'm needed inside the ship. I am giving control of the Gawain to you. Use it to defend the Avalon from the enemy aircraft which will undoubtedly try to shoot us down." Secilia instructed him as she descended from the open cockpit.

* * *

CC pulled back the arm of her Burai Kai and delivered a strong punch directly into the side of Lelouch's snow covered Gekka. She was hoping that the jolt would be enough without causing damage to the knightmare.

"Snap out of it Lelouch!" CC yelled at him over a secure channel. For the past ten minutes he had said and done absolutely nothing. The shock of Kallen's defeat by Suzaku had almost completely paralyzed him. "Britannia's defeat is so close, just reach out and grab it!" She was trying everything she could think of to get him back to normal. While she certainly understood how painful it was to hear that someone he loved was barely clinging to life, the immortal also knew that she had to break the shock's grip over him if they were going to complete their victory. The Black Knights were simply not the Black Knights without him. And of course, CC also had her own reasons for wanting Britannia to be defeated. "How do you think Kallen will feel if we lose because her getting hurt was all it takes to break the mighty Zero?" The Gekka next to her lashed out with enough force to knock her frame down. CC smiled to herself. She was glad to have that response out of him. Anger was a step forward from paralyzing shock.

"I wouldn't know how she would feel, CC, because I could never face her if that were to actually happen." Lelouch finally replied after a long pause. The screen in front of him alerted him to the Avalon's takeoff.

"All Tenshi groups, target and destroy the Avalon. Do not let them escape!" Lelouch ordered all of his fighters in the area with renewed energy.

* * *

Suzaku took a moment to get himself familiarized with the Gawain's control scheme. In particular the Hadron Cannons. While this unit was much larger than the Lancelot, the Gawain's firepower was in an entirely different league. A minute later, eight Sutherlands emerged onto the Avalon's roof, each knightmare dual wielding assault rifles. Two of them passed their secondary rifles over to Suzaku, and they all took defensive positions as the airship began to accelerate. They didn't have to wait long.

"Suzaku, the ship's defensive network is being brought online now. Once we get out to sea, we will link up with a naval force and regroup at Midway in Area 7. We just need to hold them off until we get there. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Excellency." Numerous gun turrets appeared around the knightmares as they deployed from within their concealed housings.

Black Knights fighter aircraft were quickly upon them as the airship cleared the palace. The Sixty nine remaining Tempest fighters all broke off from whatever else they were doing and attacked the Avalon from all directions. The battlecruiser's point defense network immediately opened fire at as many of the enemy fighters as they could target. The incoming Tempests responded with volleys of missiles and cannon fire.

The incoming fire detonated harmlessly against walls of green light that had appeared at the last second. The ship's shield operators were using the data gathered about where enemy fire was coming from to activate only the shield generators required to stop the attacks. This used the ship's energy as efficiently as possible, and allowed the engines to maintain full power. The downside was that the procedure was mentally exhausting on the crew.

The knightmare frames added their own weapons to the curtain of fire around the ship. Using their slash harken tethers to stabilize themselves atop the moving airship, they opened fire with everything they had at the enemy fighters and the missiles they were launching.

Hundreds of explosions filled the air around the Avalon as missiles were hit and proximity activated fragmentation grenades detonated.

Suzaku rapidly worked over the Gawain's control panel. The shoulders split open, revealing the unmistakable crimson glow of charged Hadron Cannons. He let loose with the huge knightmare's plasma weapons, manually controlling each beam to neutralize waves of incoming air to air missiles. Kururugi snapped the right plasma beam upwards and caught one of the attacking fighters. The powerful energy weapon boiled through the aircraft, melting it away in seconds. The remaining aircraft broke off from their attack and began rapidly accelerating away from the Avalon.

"Everyone get back inside now!" Secilia's voice yelled into their cockpits with urgency. All of the Blaze Luminous generators suddenly activated at once to form a complete barrier of green light around the entire airship. Suzaku moved to comply when the Gawain's advanced sensors picked up an incoming contact. He turned and looked through the shield with the assistance of the knightmare's optics to see a lone missile approaching at high speed.


	20. Darkest Hours

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

So I have this completely backwards. First time I've ever given a present on my birthday.

* * *

December 19th, 23:14 (07:14 Pendragon)

Shirley Fenette awoke in her new home at the heart of the Holy Britannian Empire. At the Prime Minister's advice, she had returned to the mainland shortly after they spoke in his limo. Life was becoming routine for her once again. She began attending a new school shortly after her arrival, and was fitting in nicely thanks to her natural friendliness.

They day before had been particularly hard, with a full load of classes and several hours of practice with the school's swim team. When she finally got home, she had gone straight to bed and slept through the night. She rolled over to check the time and found herself wondering what was happening back in Tokyo. She missed her real friends, and the feeling lingered on no matter how hard she tried to suppress it.

She began to descend the stairs outside of her room expecting today to be as normal as yesterday had been. Normal. She thought about how less than two weeks ago her life had been anything but normal. Shirley had finally accepted that she had really been in love with Lelouch. A part of her still was. She had been at war with herself from the moment she discovered who he really was. The part that loved him clashed with the part that craved justice for her father's death. Justice prevailed, if only for a few moments.

She had heard very little of Zero since she left Area 11. Her mind had begun to run wild with all of the possible results that her actions could have had. Most of them outright terrified her. At the moment she approached Schneizel, she felt motivated to do something about her father's fate and it felt so right at the time. Ten days later, Shirley found herself wishing that she could see Lelouch again to tell him just how sorry she was. It was a position she had never found herself in before. She wanted to confess her betrayal, to tell them all what she had done, no longer caring about how they might punish her for it. However, her flare of courage quickly faded the moment she stepped out of Schneizel's car. Although she couldn't help but blame him for her father's death, she was aware that he had been killed by the landslide in the town below. He was never on the battlefield, and was not an intended target.

Shirley was pulled from her internal conflict by voices as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She turned a corner and found her mother, her eyes glued to the TV.

"To those of you just joining us now, this is Vincent Ashcroft with the BBC coming to you live over the capital of Area 11 as the battle rages into its seventh hour. Although Britannian forces in the north of the city have so far managed to hold their positions against the onslaught, Black Knights units led by Cornelia li Britannia have crushed all resistance in the west and are assaulting the Viceroy's palace in force."

Shirley stood and watched, unable to find words for what she was seeing on the screen. The picture changed, with Ashcroft now residing in a corner of the screen. The news aircraft had zoomed in on the front of the palace. Shirley remembered the last time she had been there. It was so bright and clean and orderly in her memory. The image in front of her portrayed a vastly different reality. The main highway leading up to the front of the structure was littered with the flaming wreckage of Britannian military vehicles. Several groups of blue tanks and knightmares were still trying to hold their ground as the base of the palace. As glowing rounds from the Black Knights' advancing tanks hammered their positions, two knightmares charged forward and engaged the defenders at point blank range. Ashcroft turned for a moment to the Black Knights officer sitting next to him. The camera then focused on the lead Gloucester wielding a pair of red glowing swords.

"I have just been informed that the black knightmare you are seeing here is in fact Cornelia herself personally leading the attack into the center of Tokyo." Ashcroft reported. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut suddenly short by a massive blinding flash.

* * *

Twenty nine seconds earlier.

"Enemy missile is seven kilometers out and closing fast from 4:00 high!" One of the Avalon's sensor operators yelled out.

"Power down all weapons systems. Overcharge the Blaze Luminous generators and keep us accelerating away from it." Schneizel ordered his crew. He was for once in his life at a loss for what to do. He had seen from the previous detonations that the fireball generated by one of these new weapons was almost four kilometers in diameter. It was still too far away for the ship's point defenses to shoot down, but even at this range he wasn't sure the Avalon could survive if it detonated.

"What is the maximum effective range on the Gawain's Hadron Cannons?" Suzaku asked as he appeared on a screen.

"About five kilometers. The actual maximum range is well above ten." The Knight of Two recalled with a look on her face that said 'are you kidding me?' Don't tell me you want to try and shoot that thing down."

"Please Excellency, I have to try!" Suzaku replied stubbornly.

"You have one shot, and then you must get back inside whether you succeed or not. We will only lower a section of the shield for a moment." Schneizel confirmed for him.

"Yes, your highness!" Suzaku charged the Gawain's twin Hadron Cannons and took aim at the missile. Just as he had been told, a small hexagonal section of the Blaze Luminous barrier disappeared. He fired the very moment his brain registered that the window was open. The shoulder cones split open and twin lances of magnetically shaped crimson destruction surged out toward the target. At this range it would take just under two seconds for the beams to reach the missile. He thought he had done it. The unbelievably bright pink light that suddenly flooded his cockpit proved otherwise.

"Get inside now!" He heard a voice yelling at him. Suzaku backed up and dropped the Gawain down through the top hatch into the airship's main hangar as fast as he could. The unit's ten slash harkens discharged into the floor in an attempt to hold it steady.

The Mjolnir warhead detonated 5 kilometers away from the Avalon. The weapon once again produced a titanic fireball measuring approximately four kilometers in diameter, made far more dramatic by the fact that this one had detonated at a higher altitude. The forest below evaporated as the bottom third of the fireball hit the ground. At this distance, the Avalon was not out right consumed by the blast. Instead, they had a brief moment of calm before the incredibly hot supersonic shockwave smashed into them. The entire ship was thrown forward almost a hundred meters in an instant.

Even with the Blaze Luminous systems running slightly above their maximum safe capacity, the combined power of the shockwave and thermal pulse easily overwhelmed the shielding. The rear of the Avalon was briefly exposed to extreme temperatures, melting the exterior surfaces until they glowed bright white. The airship's main engines and two of the three float units immediately suffered critical damage and were rendered useless. A third of the crew, those in the rear sections of the ship, were boiled alive as the internal temperature in areas closest to the blast rose to nearly triple the boiling point of water.

Being located on the underside of front of the ship, the bridge was fairly well protected as the explosion was centered above and behind them. Still, the force of the blast caused numerous injuries amongst the bridge crew as the occupants were violently thrown around. The temperature on the bridge instantly doubled, going from warm and comfortable to something reminiscent of the cockpit of an early model Glasgow left out in a middle eastern summer day.

As the fireball began to dissipate, the Avalon started losing altitude. The ship's single remaining operational float unit was enough to prevent it from going into an uncontrolled free fall, but was not enough to keep it in the air. The crippled airship left a trail of smoke and flame behind it as it fell at a slight angle and crash landed in a forested area a few hundred meters from the coast.

* * *

Frost turned another corner in the sprawling network of tunnels beneath the Ashford Academy grounds. Sanders followed a few steps behind him, carrying their wounded marksman toward what they hoped would be someone with the skills needed to save her. They had abandoned most of their gear back where they stopped to wait for her to regain consciousness. Without helmets, weapons, and ammunition to slow them down, they were moving faster than anticipated.

"Goddamn you are tough, Claire. I'd be crying for my mommy if I were in your shoes right now." Frost's remark did what he wanted, putting a smile on her pained face. The more they could distract her from the grim reality around them the better. They turned one more corner and found themselves only a few meters from a door. Frost quickly closed the distance and got it open.

Instead of another tunnel, they found themselves standing in a huge room packed full of Ashford Academy students. The discovery answered their hours old question of how the school's population had managed to vanish.

With no Black Knights there, they had no choice but to take whatever they could get. Claire couldn't go any farther in her condition without risking even further injury. Luckily for them, they did have the school's nurse, who just so happened to be a real doctor.

* * *

Luciano Bradley was a furious man. His status as the Knight of Ten meant that he was kept informed of recent developments. Being told that he was too far behind enemy lines for the evacuation flight on the Avalon to wait for him had felt like a punch in the gut. He had been dumped in some pretty bad situations over the years, but he had never been straight up abandoned before. The fact that the orders came from His Majesty himself made it feel even colder. So that's what he was, just another expendable asset, and he had just been expended, written off as an acceptable loss. The logical part of him understood why, but that didn't go very far to helping him accept this fate. He was still breathing, his knightmare still running, and he was not about to give up until both of those facts ceased to be true.

The plan had definitely not gone as well as expected. Bradley and the Glaston Knights were supposed to sneak behind enemy lines and disrupt the flow of reinforcements long enough for other units to rally and break the assault on the palace. That plan fell apart the moment they dropped back down to the second level. Immediately engaged by an elite unit, they never made it to the highway.

Bradley's secondary plan of breaking through them also failed. Todou was proving to be an even match for him. No matter how many times he managed to get away from him in the sprawl of buildings, Todou always caught up. As their running individual duel raged on with neither of them making significant progress, enemy reinforcements arrived to back up the Holy Swords. The Glaston Knights, to their credit, managed to score several kills, even outnumbered nearly four to one.

As their battle progressed, they had been forced further and further apart. Todou had apparently ordered them to ignore their duel. Not a single enemy knightmare had come to engage him since the beginning of their fight. Bradley ordered the Glaston Knights to break out in their own direction, hoping that all of the enemy knightmares would pursue them. The idea appeared to work, although it did nothing to help his current situation.

Luciano dodged several more slashes and a burst of rifle fire as their fast paced fight kept moving. He briefly thought about ejecting and trying to fight his way out on foot, but abandoned the idea. These Black Knights were anything but the pushovers he was expecting. It flew in the face of his ideals and even past experiences, but these traitors and numbers were putting up a world class fight. He would be alone armed with nothing more than a pistol against legions of Black Knights deep inside their territory. He would likely end up with a quick death or a humiliating capture. No, he would not accept that. He would not run. Bradley abandoned all hope of escaping, ultimately deciding that he would kill Japan's miracle maker and earn his right to live or die in battle against what he had no choice but to consider a worthy opponent.

* * *

Milly Ashford wondered if this was how Lelouch felt as he commanded his legions of loyal Black Knights. She had been firmly in control of the Academy's population for nearly eight hours now, ordering people around from atop the Ganymede. Although it wasn't new for people, especially the students, to do what she wanted anyway, it felt different at the moment. Perhaps it was the knightmare frame at her control, or maybe the adrenaline in her system? Either way it made her feel powerful in a way that she had never experienced before. She had the whole underground warehouse was running smoothly. People were organized, supplies were being efficiently distributed, and the injured were being cared for as best they could.

When the bombing run hit the area above them, people panicked and several suffered minor injuries from falling debris. In that moment, they all looked to her. Milly had in fact been anything but calm in the moments after. She could almost taste her own fear, but she somehow managed to pull it together and maintain order.

A short distance behind her, the familiar sound of machinery began to fill the air. The large double door that led to the loading ramp had been activated from the outside and was beginning to open. A cold chill ran down her spine. She had no idea who was opening the door, and if they were a threat or not. A thousand voices went silent as the Ganymede pulled its assault rifle from the magnetic clamp and leveled it at the door.

With thin armor and an exposed cockpit, the aging frame was no match for even an outdated Glasgow. Milly herself wasn't much better either. Her heart was racing and her arms were quivering. The student council president was no soldier. She was, however, their first and only line of defense.

Milly possessed a deeper understanding of Britannia's true nature than anyone else down there. Years spent with Lelouch and Nunnally, and the knowledge of what had happened to them, gave her insight into just how twisted Britannia could be. The horrifying possibility that the army would murder them and blame it on the Black Knights in a desperate attempt to divide them and destroy their public support had crossed her mind more than once.

The door jammed as it tried to open, and a pair of large metallic hands came through the opening and began to force it open. Her finger hovered dangerously close to the weapon's trigger, but she could not yet see who's knightmare it was behind the door, only that it appeared to be a Sutherland.

* * *

Schneizel groaned in pain as he began to pull himself up from the floor of the bridge. With the combination of the bomb and the hard crash landing, virtually everyone on the Avalon was injured to some degree. A quick check indicated that although it hurt like hell, his body would still function.

He tried to stand, and was relieved when he found himself successful. The Prime Minister took a look around the bridge, and instantly wished he didn't. Quite a few of the bridge crew had been killed from the force of either the explosion or the crash.

He found his eyes lingering on two of the Blaze Luminous operators that had only minutes ago been defending them from anti air attacks. They had both been violently thrown forward into their equipment. One had his head smashed open on the edge of a console. The other man's head had been forced through the screen in front of him, the jagged broken glass nearly decapitated him. Gravity drove rivers of blood from the fresh corpses across the uneven Bridge, converging and pooling in the lowest corner.

On the other side of the bridge, several others were beginning to recover as well. The Knight of Two, along with Area 11's colonial government officials also survived with non critical injuries. The relative silence in the room was broken by a still functional communications terminal.

"Come in Avalon, do you read us? This is Task Force Neptune approaching Area 11 from the east. We lost your signal after that massive detonation. Respond immediately if you are able."

"Your highness, that's the group sent to be our escort to Area 7." The Knight of Two informed him as she made her way over.

"Neptune, this is Avalon, we read you loud and clear. We were shot down by the unknown enemy weapon and crash landed near the coast. Requesting immediate air support and evac." The former Viceroy responded.

"Understood. Do you have an estimate of enemy strength in the area?"

"Several dozen Tempest fighters. Black Knights ground forces are concentrated on the capital and should be out of range for now. And get your missile defenses online. Their new weapons is missile based." Secilia warned them.

"Roger that, Avalon. Launching fighters and transports now, ETA eighteen minutes."

Figuring it was worth a shot, she began typing away at the terminal, trying to ascertain the status of the rest of the ship. She soon found that the damage was as bad as they thought. The engines, float units, and major weapons systems were all too damaged to function. By some small miracle, the Avalon's power core was spared, leaving the ship's automatic doors, lighting, and communications operating. A quick check revealed a single friendly IFF signal still transmitting from inside the main hangar. She hit a few more buttons and opened a channel to the Gawain.

"Suzaku, what's the status in the hangar?"

"It's a mess. The impact destroyed most of the Sutherlands, but I think the pilots that were in their cockpits are OK. The Gawain's float unit was damaged by a loose Sutherland, but everything else appears to be operational." Suzaku reported from the Gawain's cockpit. His last second decision to anchor the large knightmare by discharging ten slash harkens into the floor had paid off. While the Sutherlands were easily launched around the hangar, the Gawain managed to avoid that fate.

"Gather the survivors and meet us outside. Transport aircraft are inbound to take us to our naval escort." She instructed.

"Excellency, with the way we crashed the loading ramp is blocked. There's no way to get the knightmares out." Suzaku spoke in disappointment. He did not want to be the man to abandon two of the Empire's most advanced knightmare frames in less than three hours, even if it was under orders. He checked over the Gawain's systems, looking for a solution. The energy filler reading showed 32% remaining, and all integrated weapons systems were online and functional. Secilia's custom scythe was knocked loose in the chaos. A quick glance around the hangar found it half buried under the wreckage of a destroyed Sutherland. He picked up the weapon, finding it had survived intact.

"Kururugi, the Hadron Cannons are still working, correct?" This time it was Schneizel on the channel.

"Yes, your highness. Except for the float system, the Gawain is fully functional."

"The technology on board the Gawain is too important to leave behind. That knightmare frame is equipped with the only complete prototypes of the Hadron Cannons and the Druid system. Leaving it behind would set the Camelot research teams back by months." The Second Prince informed him. Suzaku pulled up the Avalon's blueprints on his main screen. The airship 's hangar was its largest internal feature. He found a portion in the rear that was separated from the exterior by only seven meters.

"I've found a weak point in the rear of the hangar. The heat from the explosion would have boiled away most of the exterior armor on the other side. Permission to shoot my way out?" Suzaku asked, knowing that the Avalon had to be abandoned anyway in its current state. Who would object to a little bit more damage to an already destroyed unit?

"...Very well, do it."

"Everyone get back in your cockpits. I'm going to blast a path out with the Hadron Cannons! It may get too hot to breathe in here." Suzaku warned the other survivors in the hangar through the black knightmare's speakers. He initiated the charging sequence, watching everyone else take cover in the remains of their Sutherlands. Almost half a minute later, everyone was ready. He targeted the weak point and the shoulder cones split open, bathing the hangar in an ominous red glow. The energy weapons fired, boiling through everything that stood between them and the outside world. The air temperature inside the hangar quickly spiked to dangerous levels. There was certainly going to be a warning in future training programs about discharging high temperature plasma weapons in a confined space after this.

* * *

David weaved around to the front of a nearby office building, using the columns at the entrance of the structure as cover from the pursuing Black Knights knightmares. Right behind him, four other Gloucesters formed up. The Glaston Knights returned fire on the numerically superior enemy force as they tried to find a viable escape route. Bursts of rifle fire and rockets from the pods they had rigged onto their frames kept the black and silver knightmares at a reasonable distance.

"Alfred and Bart, pop thermal smoke in front of us. Once visibility drops, we're going to rush the gap between buildings five and six to the west. From there we should be able to make it to the edge of the city, and we already found out the hard way that Gloucesters can take a drop." David instructed, following Bradley's orders.

The Knight of Ten wanted them to lure as many of the enemy frames away as possible. The assumed intention was to get away and link up with friendly units in the north. As ordered, two of the Gloucesters deployed their heated smoke grenades, designed to defeat both visual and thermal optics. All five knightmares had the course marked on their forward displays. They charged into the smoke, hoping that the enemy would be just as blind as them.

Luck was just not on their side today.

Just as the five Gloucesters cleared the smoke, less than fifty meters from their escape point, a chaos mine dropped down from above and blocked the exit with a curtain of armor piercing projectiles. The Glaston Knights had no choice but to stop. Their Gloucesters would certainly be shredded if they tried to pass through it. Claudio moved to continue the escape once the mine's effect faded. Instead, a custom black knightmare landed perilously close to him and immediately lashed out with the same kind of chain sword the silver frames behind him were armed with.

With Claudio engaged with the new arrival in their only way out, the were effectively trapped. Within seconds a dozen enemy knightmares emerged from the dissipating smoke screen and moved to engage them at close range. They weren't particularly worried about the Black Knights' Sutherlands and Burais. The Glaston Knights knew that they were superior pilots at the controls of superior machines. Instead, it was the four silver frames that emerged with them. David identified them earlier as the Four Holy Swords, the best knightmare pilots the Japanese had to offer.

"We're surrounded!" Claudio made painfully clear on their channel. He knew the new black frame would be no pushover. The Black Knights only put elite pilots in their non standard units.

"We have to fight our way out! Focus on those silver knightmares. Take them out and we can get out of here." David ordered, knowing it would be much harder than it sounded. The four of them rushed forward to engage, spraying rockets and rifle rounds toward the Holy Swords' backup. Three of the opposing knightmares were hit and fell back.

They split into pairs and engaged the silver frames in close combat, their MVS blades giving them a significant advantage. David's hopes paid off when the other frames ceased firing on them, their proximity to the silver Gekkas making the likelihood of friendly fire too high to continue. David had the IFF system mark each of the frames with a number, making target selection much easier. He saw an opportunity in the positioning of the forces.

"Hit number 3 now!" he yelled out to his brothers. Immediately, the other Gloucesters broke off of their individual engagements and converged on the Gekka designated number 3, attacking from all sides. The surprised pilot did everything he could to survive the vicious assault. Behind them, the enemy knightmares were rapidly closing in. The Glaston Knights had a window of approximately three seconds to make the move count before they would be the ones surrounded.

Bart scored a critical hit, slicing through the target's sword arm with his left MVS. His right one penetrated the cockpit and killed the Gekka's pilot. The neutralized knightmare frame unceremoniously fell over with the death of its pilot.

* * *

Lelouch was beginning to get a hold of himself. The paralyzing shock that gripped him had faded. In its place came a flood of white hot rage. For the few minutes that it lasted, he wanted nothing more than to unleash it. When he got word of the Avalon's liftoff, something inside him snapped. He had been consumed by an irresistible desire to destroy when he had given the order to obliterate the Avalon. When it was clear that the fleeing airship was equipped with formidable air defenses, he ordered the submarine to launch another strategic missile.

The use of a third Mjolnir warhead appeared nowhere in his plan. He had originally wanted to save all of the remaining missiles to form the beginnings of a nuclear deterrent against the Chinese Federation and the EU. Before the battle, he had come to the conclusion that one or perhaps both of the other major powers would launch their own invasions of Japan once the Black Knights declared independence. Once they broke away from Britannia, the islands would effectively be up for grabs. Without the prospect of a full scale war with the Empire, they would likely jump at the opportunity to seize the world's largest sakuradite reserves. However, if they knew that the Black Knights could simply erase their armies at the push of a button, they wouldn't be so quick to move.

As he began to cool off, Lelouch reexamined the situation. While he had effectively wasted one of the few remaining strategic missiles at his disposal to do something his remaining fighters could have accomplished, it also sent another message. He realized that it may in fact have been a good move after all. Now everyone watching around the world knew that Mjolnir was a deliverable weapon, capable of hitting targets on demand.

He looked over and checked the map of Tokyo to his left. Although he had vanished from the battle for over an hour, the Black Knights were making progress. Surprising amounts of progress in fact. Unlike many of the Black Knights' leaders, Cornelia was more than capable of acting on her own without his micromanagement. The palace at the center of the city was under heavy assault, and nearby units were crushing through a few remaining Britannian defenders in the south. Soon the only major pockets of resistance left within the city would be a pair of fortified positions in the north.

* * *

Euphemia attacked the Gloucester in front of her with renewed vigor. She was too slow. It was the thought that simply would not escape her mind. She was too slow to effectively engage the Lancelot, instead blocking his movements while letting Kallen do the real fighting. She knew that she shouldn't, but she couldn't help but blame herself for the outcome of events in the Ashford Academy courtyard. If she were a better pilot, if she were a true ace, they would have beaten the Lancelot.

Faster. She had to be faster. The Black Knight pushed herself to the limit engaging the hostile Gloucester in front of her. But now matter how hard she tried, the enemy pilot was her equal, if not better. Euphemia was angry and overflowing with adrenaline. She had to do better. She had to beat this knightmare and help defeat the other four.

"Senba!" A voice yelled out over an open channel. Behind the enemy Gloucester, she saw one of the Gekkas fall to a precision sword strike through the cockpit.

A glimpse of inspiration suddenly hit her. The princess remembered the properties of her Geass. If she couldn't make herself faster, she would make the enemy slower. Absolute Unity was very powerful at close range, and melee range was certainly close. She activated her power, focusing on the enemy knightmare frame in front of her. Absolute Unity effectively produced the urge to do what she wanted in everyone within range.

The power flowed out, a red tinted dome visible only in Euphemia's eyes. The radius overtook her opponent, forcing him to feel her anger and sadness. She wanted him to slow down. Because her power did not directly override the target's consciousness like her brother's Geass, she couldn't make him just stand still and take it.

In his cockpit a short distance away, Claudio suddenly felt as if his head weighed as much as the rest of his body combined. He became very tired, and struggled to keep his knightmare moving. Alien feelings flowed through him, producing a horrible disorientation. Claudio tried his best to fight the effect and actually managed to stop the next three strikes.

In an instant, the heaviness faded, and he felt impossibly light. The Glaston Knight looked down, and saw that the chain sword had pierced his cockpit and sliced him in half just above the waist. He nodded his head back in his seat, and his world faded to white.

* * *

As he entered the unusually long access code he had been given, Jeremiah began to wonder what he would find on the other side of the heavy double door in front of him. Several possibilities had crossed the former Purist's mind, most of them terrible. If the roof had collapsed under the bombardment, there would certainly be excessive civilian casualties.

Jeremiah stopped himself from thinking about that possibility as the machinery controlling the doors began to activate. Although the battle for Tokyo was progressing well in favor of the Black Knights, it was not yet won. He wasn't sure if their leader could handle a massacre of innocents by his own orders, especially here of all places. He was after all, only human, even though his reputation would suggest otherwise.

The gears began to turn, and the large door started to open. Five seconds later, their progress stopped as the opening mechanism jammed. Jeremiah slipped the hands of his Sutherland into the gap and began to pull the door open. The Sutherland's threat recognition system threw a warning indicator up right in the middle of his main screen.

He instantly recognized the antique Ganymede standing a short distance in front of him on the other side of the door, aiming a weapon that was anything but at him. He zoomed in and identified one of Lelouch's closest friends in the pilot's seat. Jeremiah briefly thought about jumping out of the line of fire and using the door for cover, but decided against it. He knew how a soldier would react in this situation, but he had never faced a scared civilian at the controls of a knightmare frame before. The Black Knight took the least threatening course of action he could think of. He tapped a button to his side, and the Sutherland's armored cockpit door dropped back. Jeremiah's seat slid out and he stood up above his knightmare, certain that she wouldn't shoot him on sight.

"Hold your fire! I am Jeremiah Gottwald of the Order of Black Knights. I was sent to offer you any assistance you may need." Jeremiah announced, amplified by his knightmare's external speakers. He stood still and waited for what felt like half way to eternity. It was ten seconds before the Ganymede finally began to slowly lower the assault weapon and place it back on the magnetic clamp.

"Alright, I'll...help you get the door open." Milly told him as she moved the Ganymede forward. Jeremiah returned to the controls of his own knightmare frame and they both pulled on the jammed door sections. A few seconds of bone chilling metal screeching later, the jam cleared. Milly pulled the Ganymede up close to the black Sutherland in the entrance and killed her external speakers.

"Is everyone alright down here?"

"For the most part. There were a few minor injuries from falling debris earlier, but nothing serious among the students or staff. Three Britannian soldiers came in through a maintenance tunnel about an hour ago, one of them is hurt pretty bad." Milly informed him.

"Are they armed? I know it may sound cold and cruel, but we have standing orders to kill any armed Britannian soldiers on sight, regardless of their intentions."

"They said they left their weapons back in the tunnel. We didn't search them, but they didn't appear to be armed."

"Alright, I'll get a medic and a supply truck down here. We are setting up a forward base in the school's courtyard, so it won't take long." Jeremiah quickly keyed out a new set of orders.

"What's been happening out there? We don't have any working TVs or radios down here, and those soldiers that we found earlier were too worried about their friend to answer questions." Milly inquired. After she complied with Lelouch's request to evacuate underground, they had been in the dark, both literally and figuratively.

"Our forces have captured roughly two thirds of the city so far. Initial Britannian resistance was just as fierce as we had expected. In fact, we suffered most of our casualties in the first three hours. Once we managed to secure multiple bridges and gain a sturdy hold inside the city, their defense began to fall apart. Cornelia is breaking through in the center, and what Britannian units remain are isolated in the north.

I would recommend that you keep the students down here until the battle is over. Although we have complete air control, and there are no active Britannian artillery positions left, there's no need to take unnecessary risks."

"What about Lelouch?" Milly was desperate to know how he was. Her only contact with him in weeks had been a three minute phone call. She knew he had to be under an enormous amount of pressure. Somehow it still seemed unreal to her. Only a few short months ago she was bossing him around as student council president, and now he was leading the largest, most successful rebellion against the Empire in living memory.

Jeremiah hesitated at that question. He didn't want to lie to her, which meant he would undoubtedly have to tell her what had happened in the courtyard above them. Although he did not know much about Milly's relationship with Kallen, he made the assumption that they were as close as the rest of the council. After a few seconds of silence that had produced a look of worry on her face, Jeremiah decided to tell her the truth. Better it be from him than hearing it second hand once word filtered down. He leaned closer to her.

"He's not doing too well. We're lucky that Cornelia's central attack has so much momentum."

"What happened to him?" She demanded, in an almost angry tone.

"Nothing directly... The Lancelot was a part of the force sent to clear Ashford Academy, and he sent Kallen to assist Euphemia against him." Jeremiah paused. "The battle lasted about ten minutes. Kallen...lost. Her knightmare was completely destroyed." Milly brought her hands up in a swirl of shock, surprise, and a hint of horror.

"Is she..?"

"The last I heard, she was hanging on by a thread. I haven't heard anything else since she went into surgery. In truth, that's the reason I was sent here. Lelouch ordered me to drop everything and help you. He was desperate to know if you were alright." Gottwald explained to the worried blonde.

Milly was cut short by the loud rumble of an approaching truck engine. Behind Jeremiah, the requested supply truck and about twenty Black Knights were moving down the ramp.

"I apologize, but I must get back to running operations up top. Since you're in charge down here, they are yours to command for now." Jeremiah gestured toward the new arrivals.

"Does this mean I'm being drafted into the Black Knights?"

"Not necessarily. Although I could certainly do that if you wish. Since you used to boss around our boss, I don't think you would have any trouble fitting in. He might even get a laugh out of the opportunity to give you orders for once. Who knows, it might even lift his spirits a bit."

* * *

Guilford rushed forward, weaving his Gloucester around bursts of fire emanating from the secondary weapons of the Panther tanks in front of him. He dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding a shell from a tank's main cannon. He jumped forward before the second tank could get a shot, and landed his knightmare on top of it. The Gloucester reversed its grip on the armor piercing lance and drove it straight down, puncturing the top armor of the first tank. Slash harkens lashed out at the second Britannian vehicle, destroying the unit's powerful main cannon and secondary machine gun.

He glanced over toward the main entrance to the palace. The front steps had been fortified with a mix of sandbags, reinforced concrete road barriers, and a number of crew served heavy weapons that were pouring fire on the advancing Black Knights. He started moving, immediately looking for a weak point to engage.

His quickly formulated plan of attack was rendered useless as a rather daring Tempest pilot maneuvered his aircraft between the closely packed buildings and hosed the upper level of the position with explosive cannon rounds. A few seconds later, a pair larger rounds sailed past the Gloucester and pulverized what was left at the bottom of the steps. A group of Sutherlands and Panthers, captured from the Selene were rolling up behind him. A column of APCs followed, unloading the infantry squads tasked with securing the building.

On the other side, Cornelia delivered the final blows against the last remaining Britannian Sutherland guarding the palace. They had done it. The palace was the key hard point that anchored the two remaining positions north of it. Once the structure was thoroughly cleared out, the remaining Britannian forces would be trapped between the Black Knights and the outer edge of the city. Forces assaulting across the single remaining northern bridge had set up a small but concentrated holding at the top. If the Britannians wanted to run, they would have no choice but to attempt to fight their way out, putting them at the mercy of hostile air power.

* * *

Lelouch moved his silver Gekka down one last road, slowing down as he reached his destination. He drove his knightmare frame through a very familiar gate onto the grounds of Ashford Academy. The campus had undergone a massive transformation over the course of a few hours of war. Instead of the quiet school he could still see every time he closed his eyes, the place had changed in a few hours from school to active battlefield to military base.

All around him people in black uniforms moved about doing what was needed to keep his army running. Technicians were swapping out knightmare energy fillers, armored vehicles were being rearmed, and the wounded were being moved into the gym, which had been remade into a field hospital. Corpses were being laid out in a tent to the side of the building, almost all of them dead soldiers from both sides.

The field used by the equestrian club had been turned into a makeshift air staging area. The leader of the revolution caught sight of five of his fighters, having landed there with their vectored thrust VTOL capability, being refueled and restocked with more missiles and cannon rounds. Even though the setup had less capacity than a real airfield, it was better than the alternatives. Flying back to Noto would take far too long, and Starlight had been rendered inoperable for the moment during the initial push toward Tokyo.

A still burning heap of twisted metal caught his attention as he approached the administrative building. The remains of the destroyed vehicles and knightmares, belonging to both Britannia and the Black Knights, had been hastily pushed out of the way to make room. An incoming communication message brought his sight away back to the screens around him.

"Lelouch, we've broken the palace defenses. Our infantry are sweeping floor by floor, and are only reporting minor resistance. The entire southern half of Tokyo is ours. The only exception is a small battle near an office complex." Cornelia appeared to report.

"Outstanding work. Hold your attack for a few minutes, I'm going to try to end this. And...I'm sorry. I should have been prepared for the possibility that anyone I send into battle is at risk."

"Don't even start, Lelouch. You're holding yourself together much better than I did after Narita. When this is over, I'm sure Guilford will want to tell you all about it." Cornelia countered.

"Guilford?" Lelouch asked her. The last he knew, Guilford was still fighting for the Empire.

"I ran into him during the advance to the palace. I...convinced him to join me in the assault. Guilford's loyalty to me far outweighs his loyalty to the Emperor."

"Well, at least one of your knights made the right choice." Had Suzaku sided with him, Kallen wouldn't be staring death in the face. This battle would have been laughably one sided in the Black Knights' favor.

"What are you planning now?" His sister wondered.

"What remains of our enemy must certainly know by now that they are trapped by superior forces with no hope of escape. I'll give them one last chance to surrender. As I'm sure Schneizel has told you many times, why waste lives and resources fighting when words can achieve the same result." Lelouch explained.

"And if they refuse?"

"Then we spring the trap."

* * *

Suzaku tracked the progress of the incoming friendly aircraft on the screen in front of him. At the current rate, they had about three more minutes to sit in this cold clearing only a few dozen meters from the ocean. He looked down from his vantage point at the people assembled around the Gawain. There were 37 survivors of the crash waiting for extraction. Nearly all of them were either in knightmare cockpits, on the bridge, or near it when the weapon detonated. Everyone else on board had been killed either by heat or kinetic force.

Aside from the Gawain, only four of the twenty Sutherlands that were on board were still operational. Even though both the machines and pilots suffered from various levels of damage, they still kept watch on the sky and the forest. If the Black Knights did return before their reinforcements, the Sutherlands would provide the bulk of the defense. The Gawain simply did not have enough energy remaining for any more than a few minutes of combat.

The time ticked down, and their extraction was right on time. Several transports and individual knightmare dropships arrived to take them to safety. Suzaku couldn't see their fighter escort, even though the IFF indicated that they were somewhere above their position. They were most likely maintaining a high altitude to avoid ground based anti aircraft fire or to get the drop on any enemy aircraft that pursued them. Internally, Suzaku thought it would be unlikely that they would be hit on the way out. As far as he knew, the Black Knights' only advanced long range radar system was positioned at Noto, and he couldn't be sure they were even using it.

He hooked the Gawain's slash harkens up to one of the knightmare dropships. When they took off, it felt distinctly different to be dangling from the craft above him as opposed to flying under the Gawain's own power. Suzaku took a look behind him as they flew out over the Pacific, and it finally dawned on him that he was really leaving Japan for the first time.

* * *

Lelouch tapped his console and began broadcasting on an open channel. This fight had gone on for long enough. He knew the Britannians had been forced into a virtually unwinnable position. When he thought about it, he doubted that even he could turn this battle around if the sides were switched. If they couldn't see that defeat was staring them in the face, then it would be the death of them.

"Attention all surviving members of the Britannian armed forces! This battle has dragged on long enough. You must realize by now that your defeat can be the only outcome of this conflict. Your leaders have abandoned you, and nobody is coming to save you.

Therefore, it is in everyone's best interest that you surrender. Cease fighting now, and you will not be harmed. If you choose to do so, either individually or as a unit, put down your weapons, exit your vehicles and begin walking toward the Black Knights. This is the only chance you will have to survive. All that refuse will be joining the rest of your army in death. You have ten minutes to comply."

* * *

On the other side of the lines, Major Stark was the highest ranking officer left in the eastern Britannian holdout. Princess Carine, now their new Viceroy, along with a few higher ranking officers were stuck on the western side.

The remaining Britannian units were divided by a stretch of six lane highway that ran down the middle of the city. While the Black Knights had not completely driven a wedge between them, they did hold the bridge entrance and everything in front of it for about a hundred meters. Anything that tried to cross the exposed highway would be at the mercy of enemy fire. With two Naginata tanks deployed to cover the road, the chance of getting through without getting hit was abysmally small.

Stark's troops were desperately trying to hold the line against a large Black Knights force pushing toward them from the south. These were the same troops that had crushed all resistance on the southern side of the city. They had been slowly, but steadily advancing, devouring what little room they had left to work with. Then suddenly, they stopped. The Black Knights took cover and set up to hold their positions.

About thirty seconds later, the Black Knights requested that they surrender. Major Stark listened carefully to what Lelouch vi Britannia had to say. Surrender and live, refuse or die. This was the choice they had been given. Stark looked around his makeshift command center.

His troops were cold, hungry, and exhausted. Yet, he saw the determination in their eyes. He had fought alongside many of them on the EU front, and knew first hand that they were prepared to fight to the death. But for what?

It was obvious, at least to him, that the Empire was not going to hold on to Area 11. What reason did they have to die here? At least in Europe, their sacrifices would have been worth something, as those following behind them would surely defeat the enemies that they had not. But there was no one behind them, ready to tear through the weakened Black Knights after they had fallen.

Stark let out a long exhale and picked up his radio. He would be called a traitor for this. Who knows, maybe one of his subordinates would just shoot him and seize control. Regardless of the outcome, he was certain that his troops did not deserve this fate. They did not deserve to be forced to throw their lives away putting up a meaningless defense on these cursed islands. He got on the same open channel that Lelouch vi Britannia had used.

"This is Major Stark, acting commander of all Britannian forces east of Highway 4, we surrender."

* * *

Viceroy Carine checked over her Gloucester's map for what seemed like the millionth time. She was looking for a way out of this tactical nightmare. There had to be one, somewhere, somehow. Reduced to about three thousand of her most loyal troops, she had fortified her corner of Tokyo well. She was confident that her defenses would hold, but that was where her confidence ended. You don't win by bunkering down and holding the line when no reinforcements are available.

Then she heard Major Stark surrender over an open channel. Stark, that weakling did not deserve to hold the amount of authority that had fallen into his hands. It was her misfortune that both of his superior officers on that side of the divide had been killed. Now she was completely surrounded. The Black Knights closing in on three sides, and a forty meter drop into ice cold water behind them. There was clearly no easy way out. That left plan B, A glorious last stand. Not that she wanted to die trapped in this accursed city, but it was preferable to the alternatives.

Five minutes after Stark gave in, the attack still had not renewed. Carine figured there was no point in letting the enemy wait for words that were never going to come. Her forces were as ready as she could make them. She activated the open channel.

"I am Carine le Britannia, Viceroy of Area 11, and a daughter of the Emperor you damned traitor! There's no way in hell I would ever surrender to you!" She yelled out. To her surprise, her half brother responded.

"You have one minute to change your mind, Viceroy. If not, you, and everyone that serves you will be dead before the sun rises. That's a promise, your highness." Lelouch told her with a deadly serious tone. There was no overconfidence or sarcasm to be found in his voice.

Barely ten seconds after he finished speaking, her entire front line started taking heavy fire. The Black Knights had not wasted the time during the brief lull. Instead of sitting idle, they had identified and dialed in the Britannian positions. Well aimed rounds of all types tore into what was left of her front line. Their defenses quickly began to buckle under the fury of the enemy assault.

* * *

In a way, the superhuman effort required to shoulder the entire student council's responsibilities with only two people had made Milly resistant to pressure and long hours. Although the experience certainly helped, she was still exhausted. She supposed that it didn't matter as much now, since she now had plenty of help, and it was unlikely that the battle would return to the school. She stood up from the Ganymede's pilot seat to stretch for the first time in what felt like days.

She caught sight of Rivalz directing two of the Black Knights offloading bottles of water and some blankets from what was now the third supply truck. He was too busy to notice, but she smiled down at him. Milly had been amazed at his transformation in the last month from chief slacker to all star workaholic. Without him doing work fit for three, Ashford Academy would have certainly run into trouble. They made one hell of a team, and it was definitely showing.

The president's attention shifted from her number two to the new knightmare frame that had just reached the bottom of the ramp. The silver unit was radically different from the common Sutherlands and Burais. It had a katana shaped chain sword on a magnetic clamp at its waist, and an integrated gun system built into its left wrist.

The Gekka approached her slowly, its cockpit opening as it came closer. At the controls sat a familiar, if slightly worn out face. Lelouch had opted to leave his mask off, and it was clear that even though he was down here, he was not taking a break. As he got closer, Milly heard him handing out rapid fire orders to at least half a dozen voices, none of which were familiar.

"Move through access corridor C12 and take exits 15 and 17. You will be in two buildings about fifty meters behind their front line. Engage from the rear and prioritize their knightmare frames." Lelouch knew they were heavily outnumbered. He doubted that Britannian troops would be assigned to watch basement access doors while the situation at the front was so dire.

"Lelouch." Milly pulled the Ganymede up alongside him. "Jeremiah told me what happened. Are you alright?"

"No." Lelouch looked up at her from his knightmare's screens. "But it doesn't matter how I feel. I've come too far to let anything stop me. The whole world is watching as the Order of Black Knights break an Imperial army on their own ground. This will be the worst defeat in Britannian history."

"How close are you?"

"Closer than anyone else has ever come. I have them cornered, outnumbered, and completely surrounded. Their position is hopeless." Zero summarized. "I hope he's watching."

The Emperor, she instantly realized. She could barely imagine what it must feel like to hate somebody to such a degree. Milly already knew the general overview of what had really happened to Lelouch and Nunnally, but it was beyond her ability to conceptualize just how devastating it had to be to face that level of betrayal.

"You are nothing. That was the last thing that man said to me. He meant it too. He likes to think that he's some kind of god, and that the world is beneath him. He believes himself to be invincible. So I asked myself, what does Charles zi Britannia fear? How ironic it is that he gave me the answer himself."

"So Zero is...nothing?"

"Precisely. Zero is nothingness given form." Lelouch picked up the mask. "I built my revolution around this faceless being because it is not Britannian, or Japanese, or Eleven, or anything else. It is just Zero, and zero has no race or class that allow it to be subject to any preexisting bias. It allowed me to bring together people from all walks of life that he had so effectively divided with a common purpose." Lelouch explained.

"So why take it off?"

"I am nothing. Individually, we are all nothing, but united we can achieve anything. They understand that now, and the strength of Black Knights is the proof that it's true. I no longer need Zero to bring us together, our actions have made it self sustaining."

"Zero! We've broken through! Our armor is inside their last line of defense!" A Black Knights officer reported enthusiastically. The grin that manifested on Lelouch's face told Milly all she needed to know.

"Capture Princess Carine alive if you can, but don't take any unnecessary risks in doing so. If she gives you too much trouble do not hesitate to kill her." Lelouch quickly instructed.

* * *

It had been hours since Shirley had done anything other than breathe and stare at the live broadcast from Area 11. She could not stop watching as the army Lelouch had built tore through the city she had called home. It was amazing that the distant and lazy boy with a gambling problem was changing the world before her eyes.

She had been on the edge of her seat when the news aircraft landed in a field less than a hundred meters from her former dorm room to refuel next to a row of Black Knights aircraft. She looked as hard as she could for any sign of the student council among the activity on campus. She found nothing but uniformed Black Knights, knightmare frames, and all sorts of other military vehicles. Her best friends were down there somewhere living through it first hand, and she was watching from half a world away. It made her feel even more like a coward and a traitor.

"It's looking quite a bit calmer down there now." Shirley's attention came back to the present. "This is the first time since we went live that we cannot see any active battles in the city." Ashcroft reported as the nose camera scanned the area. Beside him, the Black Knight on board was listening in on a headset. Ashcroft leaned over for a moment, before returning to the center of the shot with a much more serious look.

"Ladies and gentlemen, viewers around the world, Area Eleven has fallen. I've been informed that all Imperial forces in the Tokyo area have been vanquished, with most having been annihilated in battle. The Order of Black Knights have just claimed a decisive victory over the Holy Britannian Empire."

* * *

AN: ∞+1 later. This is why I never make update promises. Life ended up getting in the way, and I had to throw this half way off the back burner for quite a while.

The insanely long battle is finally over. I probably could have stretched this chapter out to 13k or 14k, but I'm certain you've seen enough war for the moment. Right now, the end goal is either 25 or 26 chapters.

It's nice to see reviews still trickling in even after so long. Hard to believe it's almost been three years.


	21. The Sun Rises

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

AN: I want to thank everyone that has read this so far. This story is now over a quarter million views and half way up the first page when ranked by number of favorites.

Chapters like this are hard, mainly because I'm so much better at writing war than love, conversation, and emotion. I doubt I'll ever write a story that doesn't have its fair share of conflict. Hopefully someday I will be able to paint feelings with words as well as I do destruction. *Suddenly wants to go waste 2 days reading Dauntless again*

* * *

Daybreak. The first dawn of a new world. A world in which the Holy Britannian Empire was no longer an unstoppable juggernaut seemingly destined to subjugate the Earth. The man behind the miracle sat down in a familiar chair with a mug of fresh coffee, his fifth. Lelouch vi Britannia was mentally and physically exhausted after what was undeniably the hardest thirty hours of his life.

Only a few months earlier, he had sat at this very same table balancing the school budget, organizing mountains of paperwork, and doing whatever else Milly Ashford commanded him to. Now he was working to create order out of chaos and build a new country. At the front of his mind were the other Britannian garrisons across Japan. They were small and militarily insignificant compared to the force his Black Knights had spent the last day fighting. After all, Tokyo was the heart of imperial power and the center of Britannian influence in Japan. No other section of the country had seen armed resistance as fierce as central Japan, and the outlying deployments were tiny in comparison to the capital.

He was hoping he could either convince or intimidate them into surrendering without a fight. While the Black Knights were capable of breaking them into submission, his forces had taken terrible losses in the fight for Tokyo. The Britannian military fought with all the ferocity they were known for. Black Knights combat power had been reduced by nearly sixty percent taking the city. Not quite a Pyrrhic victory, but definitely not the decisive ass kicking both he and the media were making it out to be.

Lelouch was one of very few people that knew just how much damage they had taken, and he needed to keep it that way. If it became common knowledge that they had been weakened so much, even the threat of nuclear attacks might not be enough to prevent other powers from invading. The High Eunuchs of the Chinese Federation in particular were known to have little regard for human life. It was certainly not a stretch to imagine them being willing to throw away hundreds of thousands, if not millions of their troops to secure Japan's invaluable sakuradite resources.

There were plenty of other problems to deal with as well. It was still unknown how the millions of Britannians living here would respond to his victory. It was all but certain that most of the nobility would oppose him to some degree, and he couldn't blame them. The Black Knights' promise of equality was a direct threat to the source of their power.

The presence of so many Britannians, including royalty, among the ranks of the Black Knights would help ease the concerns of the commoners, but he did not know by how much. The fact that the Black Knights were unwilling to slaughter civilians in the streets could possibly work against them by emboldening radical elements of the opposition to incite riots.

This was far too much for him to handle alone in the condition he was in. What he needed right now was a distraction, something to pull the peoples' attention away from the conflict and lingering tension. Lelouch took a look around the room, recalling memories of a more peaceful past. From fun and exciting to terrifying and humiliating, there was almost nothing that Milly had not put him through in this room. At that moment, he remembered his former boss's greatest talent, the ability to spawn celebrations of legendary proportions out of thin air. Perfect.

* * *

"Lelouch." Zero looked up from the mass of papers and maps on the table in front of him. CC was standing only a few feet away in her spotless white uniform, a concerned look on her face. She came closer, eying the mess on the table. "You're exhausted."

"It doesn't matter. I still have so much to do."

"You can't keep going at this rate. You need to rest." CC came up behind him and draped her arms across his chest. "Please, Lelouch." He looked away from the table and sighed. "You know better than anyone that the Black Knights are perfectly capable of functioning without your constant management. Your sister knows what she's doing, she won't let the world fall apart if you shut your eyes for a few hours."

"You know, you're starting to feel like that little white angel that's supposed to be on my shoulder." Lelouch leaned back and looked up at her.

"I'm no angel, boy, just your witch." She looked down with a smile.

"That's right. You're my beautiful, wonderful witch. What would I ever do without you?" He replied in a tired, slightly sarcastic voice.

"I'd imagine that you would work yourself to death. What was it that the Japanese call it? Karoshi? You're pushing your limits, and when you cross them you will start making mistakes." CC stepped to the side and put her face between his and the table.

"Alright, you win. Only a few hours though." Lelouch finally accepted that she wouldn't stop until he gave in. He was slightly annoyed at first, but pushed it away. She was only trying to help him. He got up and left the room, walking back to the wing of the building that he had called home for seven years.

Lelouch opened the door to his room and looked around. The room was just as he had left it months ago when he abandoned his student life to become a full time revolutionary. As he started undoing his Zero outfit, he heard footsteps behind him. Lelouch glanced over his shoulder. CC stepped into the room and shut the door, locking it behind her. The immortal woman started unzipping her own white suit. His unblinking stare got her attention.

"See something you like?"

"You know I do, but it's not that. I was just thinking about the day we first met."

"It wasn't exactly a romantic first date."

"I was just...remembering how you changed the world in that one moment." He began, letting his cape drop to the floor. "If you hadn't taken that bullet for me in Shinjuku, none of this would have been possible. I would have died, Kallen and Ougi's resistance would have been killed or captured. You would have been stuffed back into whatever slice of hell Clovis had for you. But worst of all, Charles would have won. He would have been the living god of his cold new world." Lelouch turned and looked at her as he finished undressing. She looked into his eyes, her expression slightly happier than neutral. CC gently pushed him down onto the bed before falling in next to him. She pulled him into a hug, knowing how comforting he found it.

"I owe you so much, but I've given you so little. When I fell in love with Kallen I lost sight of what you mean to me, and I-" CC put a finger over his mouth.

"Stop Lelouch. Don't you dare go down that road of what ifs and what should have been, and don't you ever doubt your love for her. There's nothing you can do to change the past. Not even Code or Geass can undo time, so thinking about it will bring you nothing but more pain. I know where you were going with that, and I don't care if you say it or not. I know that you love me Lelouch. I also know that you love Kallen more, and honestly I don't care. That you care about me at all is all that I need to be happy. Your crazy plan is more than enough proof. If you didn't, you would have just used me to the extent of my usefulness in your revolution and ended up killing me like I originally wanted."

Lelouch simply shut up and hugged her back. He was too tired to argue, and her comforting warmth was quickly melting through his ability to stay awake. He felt himself rapidly fading away, and spent the last of his energy to put a whisper in her ear.

"I do love you, you've more than earned it."

* * *

Cornelia stepped back into her old office with a smirk on her face. Even though it made perfect sense, she was still surprised when Lelouch tasked her with running the country once again. He had enough to worry about without having to deal with actually going through the motions running the place as well. Especially considering Cornelia already had experience in the position.

She took a few steps forward and realized that the room had not changed much since she had last seen it. The Knight of Two most likely never used it more than once or twice, and princess Carine certainly hadn't. There were a few folders, a stack of papers, and a coat that she did not recognize. Other than that, it was still the same as when she had been viceroy.

The princess sat down at her desk, looking through the glass wall at the snow covered city. From above, the damage seemed surprisingly minimal. No layer collapses, no fallen buildings, and no raging infernos. This was certainly not by accident. It was in neither side's best interest to target the city's critical infrastructure. The only obvious signs of the battle from her view were a few wrecks of Britannian military aircraft, still burning where they had fallen on the city's upper layer. He certainly had no shortage of creativity, Cornelia was certain about that. She was fairly certain that her brother's idea to steal a modern airforce would go down as one of the great twists of military history.

She reached down and opened one of the desk's drawers, finding something she was not expecting. Inside lay a nearly empty bottle of rum, a pistol, and a single bullet. She immediately felt herself drawn back to that terrible night after Narita. Cornelia picked it up and slowly spun it around, taking in the details of the projectile.

"Now that would have been a tragedy." She mumbled to the air. Never before in her life had she felt so broken, so hopeless. Without Guilford's support, she likely would have ended it right there. She forced herself away from her memories and back to why she had returned in the first place.

Right now, she had a country to keep together. She got to work summoning powerful members of the nobility, Tokyo's police commissioner, and some notable Japanese community leaders. She needed to get everyone in the same room and talking to each other before they started drawing lines in the sand. At best, she could prevent additional conflict. At worst, Cornelia could simply detain them until Lelouch could use his Geass to set them on the same page.

It wasn't an idea that she particularly liked, but it would be quick and effective. Destroying someone's free will was something she would rather not have a part in, but she trusted that her brother would not cause unnecessary damage. He was comparatively careful with how he used the power, unlike some other members of the royal family that, given the opportunity to do so, would have no hesitation about turning the country's ruling elite, if not the whole world, into their slaves.

* * *

The snow storm accompanying the battle had passed only a few hours after the fighting had stopped. Cleanup operations had begun even earlier. Although the combat was fierce inside the city, most of the damage was cosmetic. There were plenty of bullet holes, wrecked vehicles, pieces of destroyed aircraft, and some fire damage scattered around. As bad as it looked, there were no collapsed buildings, no significant layer damage, and no major disruptions to utilities.

Less than an hour after the colonial government surrendered, essential services were out in force. After being assured by the Black Knights that they still had their jobs they began helping the victors clear the aftermath of the battle from the streets. Most public workers went through the transition with little friction. The police were the clear exception.

Being the only armed force of the colonial government remaining, the majority of the capital's police officers felt uncomfortable around Black Knights personnel. This was most easily seen in the SWAT and Knight Police units, who had training and equipment comparable to the military. They had never felt so afraid before, and it was hard to hide. These were people that they had been openly persecuting only 48 hours earlier, and now they were firmly in control after butchering the army. They all feared just one incident gone wrong would spark a purge ending in their executions. But it had not come.

Instead they found themselves conducting what was as close to business as usual as they could imagine considering the circumstances. Police units had been directly attached to Black Knights units, as they were operating under a new set of rules but had no time to be retrained. To their surprise, they were allowed to keep their weapons. The Black Knights had decided that having a functioning police force on the streets now was more important than overreacting on the possibility that someone might end up doing something stupid.

With the influx of extra manpower, the city was effectively running smoothly by nightfall on the 20th. More importantly, the operation started to build the first layer of trust between Tokyo's sizable police forces and their new rulers.

With other services they had also shown the knightmare frame's great potential for civilian applications. The same knightmares that had been attacking the city only hours before were now assisting fire department crews to clear debris and extinguish fires around the city, mostly from the burning remains of war machines. The tension and additional conflict Lelouch and many others had feared did not appear to materialize, at least on the surface.

* * *

It took the Holy Swords almost five hours to find Colonel Todou. The two battle scarred Gekka knightmares rolled up to find his own Gekka, or rather what was left of it, leaning against a nearby building. The unit was critically damaged, missing its right arm, the top half of the cockpit, and half of its left leg. Todou himself was standing about 30 meters away, keeping himsef warm next to the burning wreckage of the white Gloucester that had been his opponent.

As they came to a stop next to him, they noticed something else. A body, face down, surrounded by red snow on all sides. The cockpits opened, revealing Chiba and Asahina.

"Colonel! Are you alright?" Asahina asked, amazed at what he was seeing. They had been fearing the worst when his IFF stopped transmitting and he could not be reached over radio.

"I'm fine." he nudged in the direction of the corpse. "We fought until both of our knightmares were destroyed. I continued my duel with the Knight of Ten face to face." The fact that he was still standing and the Britannian was cold and dead said enough about the outcome. "What of the Glaston Knights?"

"Three of them were killed. The other two managed to escape through the sacrifice of one of their own along with a smoke screen and a number of chaos mines." Chiba reported. "Colonel, Urabe and Senba fell in battle." The Colonel let out a long exhale, closing his eyes and looking down.

* * *

Lelouch opened his eyes and instantly realized something was wrong. He was not in bed, not at Ashford Academy, not even in Japan. He awoke in a grassy clearing, surrounded by forest on all sides. It was an unusually clear night, with millions of stars and a full moon visible in the sky. It was supposed to be December, but the warm breeze blowing through the field gave a clear indication that wherever he was, it was summer.

He looked around, trying to find something, anything that would give him a clue as to where he was or how he got here. A short distance to his left he saw something illuminated by the moonlight. A naked woman, laying on the ground next to a charred wooden post, surrounded by a pile of still smoldering ashes. She stood up, her green hair shining in the moonlight. Recognition hit him hard.

"CC!" Lelouch yelled out as he ran over to her. There was no response. She looked around, right at him, and then away as if she saw nothing. Having closed the distance, he reached out and tried to touch her. His hand went right through her, as if he were a ghost. CC looked down at herself, touching around her body, her expression seemingly amazed.

Lelouch stepped back, still not understanding, and looked at the situation. He saw the iron cuffs and chains attached to the pole, the ashes on the ground, and that all of her clothes were gone. A second later it hit him. She had been burned alive, her bones having fell through the loose fitting metal restraints with the absence of flesh. Somebody had chained CC to a stake and burned her to ashes, probably unaware that her Code would regenerate her even from that state. Adrenaline and anger filled him. He tried again to communicate with her, and again found it impossible. She could not hear him, see him, or feel him.

He quickly looked around, searching for the footprints or wheel marks of whoever did this. Instead of finding a clue, there was a blinding white flash. When it subsided, the entire world had changed.

From the clearing, he now found himself standing in what appeared to be some kind of modern laboratory or medical facility. Around him were men and women dressed in white like doctors or surgeons. Just as before, they paid him no attention as they went about their business. It was as if he were completely incorporeal. There was a glass window in front of him. Lelouch looked through it and tried to suppress the urge to vomit.

CC was on the other side of the window, tied down to a table with thick leather straps. Her abdomen had been sliced open, and the skin pulled off to the sides. One of the surgeons stood over her, wielding a large knife instead of a scalpel. He was cutting out large chunks of her. He looked over to the right and saw that she was not even dead. Her eyes were open, tears pouring down her face. The room must have been completely soundproof. He could see her scream, but heard nothing except for those on his side of the divide.

Lelouch found himself sickened by what he was watching, and even more so by his inability to stop it. Just then, an idea clicked in his head. If physical means were useless, perhaps Geass would affect them. He looked at the nearest person's face and his left eye lit up.

"Die!" He half yelled half screamed at the man in white. Nothing happened. Without warning he felt something hard connect with his face, but nothing was there. The world started to fade again. A second blow landed, this time he felt it as a hard slap.

"Wake up Lelouch!" He heard CC's voice yell at him. He opened his eyes and saw CC raise her hand to slap him again. It was only then that he understood what was happening. He was back in bed, his heart racing, his breathing heavy. "Lelouch! Calm down. It was just a dream." He reached up and pulled her down on top of him. "Are you alright? I've never seen you have a nightmare like that. You used your Geass in your sleep. Ordered somebody to die." Lelouch said nothing for a minute, the time it took for his senses to convince him that it was not real; that she was not being dissected alive. It took him longer than normal. The dream felt far too real.

"It was...about you." Lelouch recalled in detail what he had just experienced, a few tears involuntarily falling from his eyes. CC listened closely, the look on her face betraying her familiarity with what he was describing.

"Lelouch, that was not just a dream." She told him, his eyes widening. Before he could ask, she told him. "Those are my memories." She shifted around, resting her head next to his left ear. "That first one was the night I received my Code." she began to explain. "My Geass was Absolute Affection. All I ever wanted was for someone to love me, and so I gained the power to make anyone love me. I used it on everyone I could. When the nun that tricked me into taking her Code died, so did my Geass. They all suddenly realized that I had used them, and they burned me as a witch that same night." His head turned, and their eyes met.

"The second was about five years ago. Those were Clovis's people in that lab. That was...mild compared to some of the things they did to me." Lelouch's Geass lit again, even though there was nothing for him to use it on. He was doing nothing to hide how he felt. CC suddenly felt a surge of warm happiness as she watched him. He was angry that somebody had hurt her. Angry enough to kill for her, enough to unleash unspeakable horrors on her torturers. He really did love her. Nobody had ever loved her like that before. He suddenly pulled himself out of her embrace.

"I've slept enough." Lelouch stated as fact, despite it having been barely 200 minutes since he got in bed. He got up and began putting his Zero outfit back on. "Come with me. We're going to visit my sister."

* * *

Fortunately for Cornelia, and probably everyone else as well, the flash meeting that she had arranged had actually gone rather well. It had taken just under an hour for everyone in attendance to settle in agreement. The Japanese were happy to see an end to the fighting. The Britannian nobles at the table found themselves divided. Many were visibly unhappy with the outcome of the battle. They quickly agreed to Cornelia's suggestion of simply leaving the country and going back to the Britannian mainland. If they were so unhappy with the situation, the last thing that needed to happen was forcing them to stay so that they could stir up problems.

A few saw it differently. Many of them simply had far too much invested here to easily pick up and leave. That, and there were huge opportunities to be found in the creation a brand new country. Once they were assured that the Black Knights had no intention of harming or degrading the Britannian populace, they were quick to get on board.

As those gathered began to leave, one did not leave her seat. The Japanese representative from Kyoto, Kaguya Sumeragi. She was the odd one out among the meeting. Most of the people in the room were male and over 30. In many ways they were the stereotypical rich and powerful elite.

Kaguya, female and about half of their ages, had little outwardly in common with them. Cornelia had expected Kyoto's representative to be Kirihara, and was quite surprised to see the young girl walk through the door. A few, all Britannian, who did not know who she was, made the mistake of thinking she was soft and easy to push around. They found out the hard way that she was in fact sharp, very intelligent, and manipulative. Although they way she did it was nothing like Lelouch, Cornelia was still impressed at how the girl could rip through arguments and back powerful men into corners with ease. Her ability to twist others' words and meanings to her own advantage had an elegance that somewhat reminded her of Schneizel. But Schneizel wasn't nearly as adorable.

As the last one left, they were alone in the room.

"I am curious as to why you were sent here instead of another. I would have expected the most powerful head to attend, even with the short notice." Cornelia wondered. While she didn't doubt Kaguya's ability to speak for Kyoto, she did find it interesting that they would send their youngest and least experienced.

"I volunteered to come. I was so happy to hear that Lelouch was still alive. Even more so to know that he's leading the Black Knights. It may be selfish of me, but I really want to see him again." Kaguya replied in her normal cheerful tone.

"You know my brother?"

"Suzaku Kururugi is my cousin. We spent a lot of time together before the Britannian invasion. Lelouch was always so nice, but always with a dash of cold and mysterious. It made him interesting, far more so than Suzaku who was always painfully direct. The last time I saw him was a few days before the war. I never stopped wondering what happened to him, or hoping that he was alright. Even though he was a prince, I was always certain that he had nothing to do with the destruction of my country. He really felt at home here in Japan."

"I still don't know much about what happened to him after he was sent to Japan, just a few bits and pieces." Cornelia responded. "You're welcome to stay in the palace if you wish. I'll let him know you're here."

* * *

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" The Britannian man holding an assault rifle glanced over to the guard on the other side of the door. She had not stopped staring at the girl chained to the chair in the center of the room for hours.

"I don't know what to feel. A lot of people died yesterday because she's a stubborn little bitch. On the other hand, I'm old enough to be her mother. Not that I'm trying to start a debate on nature versus nurture, but I doubt she ever had a chance at becoming a decent human being growing up around so many monsters." The Japanese woman leaning against the wall with a pump shotgun responded, not taking her eyes off the center of the room.

The chains binding her wrists and ankles to the bolted down metal chair rattled slightly. Her blue eyes looked up at the two Black Knights guarding the door. The room wasn't a prison cell or purpose built interrogation room, but a cold and empty concrete storage closet in the maintenance tunnels below Ashford Academy.

"Finally decide to wake up?" Carine looked almost shocked at where she was. A few seconds later, memories started coming back to her. She was one of the last to fall at the very end of the battle. Surrounded and out of ammo, she charged the attacking Black Knights. A tank round tore the right leg off her Gloucester, and incoming fire from enemy knightmare frames triggered the automatic ejection system.

"You ejected right into the side of a building, straight into a load bearing column. You were unconscious when they pulled you out of the rubble." The male guard informed her.

"Where...am I?"

"You're strapped to a chair in a concrete room under armed guard. I'd say that eliminates most possibilities." The female guard replied.

"You're awaiting interrogation, execution, or whatever else they want to do with you." The other guard answered more directly. Carine instinctively glanced at the only door in the room. The only way out. It didn't go unnoticed.

"You scared, little girl?" The Japanese guard stepped closer to the former Viceroy. "I had three children. I loved them to death. I worked hard to be the best mother I could for them. They would have been about as old as you if the Britannian Army didn't murder them. Shot to pieces in their own fucking home." She moved closer, their faces now inches apart. "I could take my knife and carve their names into your chest. You would scream and beg just like anyone else would. And then maybe, I could teach you what real fear is."

The sound of the door opening interrupted her. In walked Lelouch vi Britannia in his black Zero suit, followed closely by CC dressed in a white pilot's uniform.

"Yukiko's just softening her up. Nothing physical." The male guard quickly said, covering for his friend. He knew that she wouldn't disobey their orders to leave the prisoner unharmed, but their new arrivals didn't. The fact that she really would enjoy butchering the defenseless princess made the threat sound far more intimidating. She stepped away as they approached. Lelouch stepped forward and pulled something from his pocket. He held it up a few inches from her face for her to see.

"A bullet?" Carine observed.

"Your death." Zero corrected her. "But before I put this in your head, you're going to do a few things for me."

"I'll do nothing for you, traitor." The imprisoned princess countered.

"Oh you will. You think that you have a choice, that you can resist, but you don't, and you can't. I own you, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." Lelouch pulled another small object from his pocket and placed it in her hand. A clear glass white pawn. "That is all you are now. In fact, that pawn is worth more than what remains of your life. Unlike you, I can always play another game with it later." Lelouch turned to leave. "I'll be back when I'm ready to make use of you, my dear sister."

After Lelouch left with the silent CC, the male guard looked over to his partner. "Well I think we know now who the better professor of fear is."

"Shut up, Jake." Yukiko shot back.

* * *

"Planning anything fun for her?" CC asked her accomplice as they made their way back to an elevator that would return them to the campus above.

"Despite what I said in there, I'm still not quite sure what to do with her. Carine holds no particularly useful influence, and she has no great connections to exploit. Her military career was brief, and she would do little to help bring more of them to our side. Forcing her to switch sides wouldn't do either. The Black Knights range from generally disliking her to outright hating her. Convincing them to accept her would bring us virtually no benefits for the effort required." Lelouch went through the possibilities as they rode back up.

"Why not just kill her then? It's obvious you will at some point anyway." CC suggested.

"True, but I'm sure I can think of a way to get something more out of her. In all her mediocrity, Carine is still royalty. That in itself gives her life value beyond her abilities."

The elevator reached the top, and the pair stepped out into a familiar setting. A place Lelouch considered to be home, his third. As he walked along the hallway, glancing over through the row of broken windows to see a few of his knightmare frames outside, he felt determined to make sure he would not need to find a fourth. He moved toward the exit, intent on going directly to the one place in Tokyo he could never be prepared for.

* * *

"Miss Ashford." Milly turned around to find the now somewhat familiar Jeremiah Gottwald behind her.

"The damage to the school wasn't as bad as we thought. There's a lot of glass to clean up from all the broken windows, but my minions can handle it." Jeremiah laughed. Neither of them had slept since yesterday. Milly was still running the show at the Academy, determined to give all she could to get the campus fixed up quickly. As crazy as she could be sometimes, she really did love Ashford Academy. She also knew that Lelouch did as well, and he certainly wouldn't want it to stay closed. Especially as a result of his own war. They turned the next corner just in time to see Rivalz finish brewing up another pot of coffee.

"I'm glad this is turning out rather well. To be honest, opening that door last night was one of the scariest moments of my life. I couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if the roof had collapsed." Jeremiah confessed to the president.

"Well, you opening that door WAS the scariest moment of my life." Milly reached over a grabbed a fresh mug of coffee, having lost count of how many she had drank hours earlier. "While you were worried about the roof, I was practically waiting for the army to come down there a shoot us to pieces and pin it on you guys."

"You really think they would have? While I know they would kill civilians, I've never heard of Britannian troops murdering Britannians en mass. Rumors or otherwise."

"The only people Lelouch really trusted with his past before all this started were just me and my grandfather. When I was younger, I kept bugging him to tell me about what happened to them. You know what they say about curiosity and cats. Well, one night he got sick of it and told me absolutely everything." Milly looked down at her coffee. "My dinner ended up on the floor." She looked back up at him. "So yeah, I seriously considered it knowing what they had done. I guess was lucky that he had armed the Ganymede."

"What you did last night was very brave." Jeremiah complemented.

"I suppose it was. But I don't have a soldier hiding in me somewhere. I couldn't willingly put myself in a position like that again. One little taste was enough to tell me I'm no fighter, and that wasn't even real combat. That's why I turned down your offer, although I am grateful that you think I'm good enough." The president paused for a second. "I'm sorry. We got so sidetracked that I never asked what you needed me for."

"I spoke to Lelouch when he was leaving the school about a half hour ago. He wants you to throw a huge Christmas party. He said something about relaxing and making people laugh and smile."

Suzaku stood at attention as both Prime Minister Schneizel and the Knight of Two entered the otherwise empty conference room. He felt slightly fortunate for his time spent on the HMS Yorktown. The layout of every Salisbury class assault carrier was identical, and he had no trouble finding his way around on the HMS Galatea. While he had been waiting, he wondered if the battlegroup had been named Neptune because of the Galatea being the center of the formation. Not that it held any relevance, his mind had just started to wander from being tired. Secilia had kept him busy since their evacuation, leaving no time for sleep. Not that Lloyd would have let him sleep anyway after having abandoned the Lancelot.

"Sir Kururugi, I appreciate your loyalty in light of recent events. When it became clear that Cornelia had switched sides and joined the Black Knights, I feared that you may have as well. It was under my sister that you rose from nothing to knighthood in the space of a few short months. That is an amazing feat by any stretch, and completely unprecedented for a non Britannian. I would not have been surprised if your loyalty to her were stronger than toward Britannia. Although you are technically still a Number, it feels wrong to address you as such considering your accomplishments." Schneizel began.

"Thank you, your highness." Suzaku replied, feeling a bit more comfortable. "I doubt I could have switched sides even if I wanted to. By choosing the path that I have, I burned too many bridges with those on the other side. Although I hope to change it some day, most Japanese people regard me a traitor for siding with Britannia. Had I tried, I would likely have been thrown in a cell the Black Knights the Lancelot against you." Suzaku explained.

"I'll be assigning you a Gloucester until we reach the mainland. As mad as Earl Asplund is, he'll get over it once he starts on another project. Being the best test pilot he has ever had, I suspect Lloyd will forgive you soon anyway."

"Are there already new projects in development?"

"Of course. The ASEEC in Area 11 was only a small part of Camelot. I have a research facility in Colorado developing a more practical seventh generation knightmare frame with combat data you collected in the Lancelot. Related technologies such as the Blaze Luminous and the Maser Vibration Swords are already being incorporated into select units. Your contribution so far has been very valuable to our efforts, and I am glad that you are here to continue on." Schneizel revealed.

* * *

The quickest way from Ashford Academy to Tokyo University Hospital was definitely by air. However, Lelouch saw no need to waste the time of a transport pilot. With the city's southern bridges virtually untouched by the battle, it did not take long to reach the facility by knightmare. Leaving their knightmare frames outside, Lelouch and CC made their way into the hospital and made for the nearest elevator.

Upon reaching the thirteenth floor, the doors opened to reveal a half a dozen heavily armed Black Knights infantrymen standing guard. The newcomers were almost immediately approached by a middle aged Britannian woman, a doctor judging by her appearance. She looked surprised and a little nervous.

"I'm doctor Hallison. Sorry if I seem a bit uncomposed; I wasn't expecting you to show up unannounced." The woman in the white coat introduced herself.

"H..How is she?" Concern that he had been suppressing now creeping its way back. "Please, tell me the truth."

"Alright. I won't sugar coat it, it's not that good. Right now Kallen is critical, but stable. Considering the extent of her injuries, that alone is a miracle." Doctor Hallison told him.

"I want to see her." Lelouch said in a way halfway between request and command.

"Follow me." Hallison started to walk down the hallway to their right. Fifteen rooms down, another two guards stood outside the last door at the end of the hall. They opened the door for them. The room on the other side was spacious, far more than he was expecting. A few meters away was a bed similar to the one he had seen Nunnally in after their mother's assassination.

Far from the mangled body and nightmarish mass of tubes and monitoring equipment he had imagined, Kallen looked almost peaceful laying on the gel surface. Most of her body was covered with a white blanket, leaving her neck and head exposed. She was hooked up to a respirator, and had two IV drips which disappeared to entry points covered by the blanket. Her vitals were displayed on a screen off to the left, measured in real time by the high tech bed itself. He didn't even notice the other medical personnel in the room until nearly a minute later.

"How bad is it?" He asked Hallison, his voice sounding almost hollow. She sighed before explaining.

"The blunt force trauma from the explosion was...extreme." Hallison hesitated, She had been informed of how important Kallen was by the frantic princess Euphemia that had brought her in. Euphemia had been threatening bloody murder if they didn't do everything possible save her, and the last thing they wanted was to have to face a very emotional woman with a gun if they failed. Hallison tried to think of a more sensitive way to say it, but couldn't, and decided to just say it. "Kallen suffered fifty seven skeletal fractures, a puncture in her right lung, and massive internal bleeding amounting to almost a third of her total volume."

She stopped when she noticed the tears pouring down Lelouch's face. It was a sight the doctor was hardly prepared for. The fearless Zero, a man brave enough to start a war against Britannia, and cold enough to execute his own brother, crying his heart out for the girl on the bed. He wiped away the tears one side at a time and turned to her.

"I'm sorry, please continue doctor. How I feel won't change the situation, and I know that Kallen wouldn't want to see me drowning in sorrow." He said in a calmer voice.

"Don't worry, Zer-Lelouch. Although she will need a few more surgeries to correct the internal damage, I expect her to make a full recovery. It won't be quick though. We have her in an artificial coma right now, and it's unlikely that we can bring her out of it before six weeks at the earliest. It will take a lot of time for those injuries to heal, even with the advanced technology we have here." Hallison explained to them.

"I would like to stay with her, but there are important matters that require my attention. She would probably be mad if I sat here and cried over her anyway." Lelouch turned to leave. "If she needs anything, or if there is any change in her condition, inform the guards immediately. They won't be leaving until Kallen does. Also, bring an extra bed in here if you can spare one. Once the situation quiets down you will be seeing a lot more of me." He told her, sounding more like the Zero she had seen on TV.

Lelouch was half way across the southern bridge leading out the city back in the direction of Ashford Academy when his Gekka caught an incoming transmission. Upon accepting it, Rakshata's smiling face appeared on the screen.

"Zero, one of your cleanup crews found the Lancelot. It was damaged and abandoned, probably due to the energy filler being completely depleted. They are transporting it to Narita right now. I can barely wait to get my hands on the Pudding Earl's masterpiece."

"Excellent. Don't completely destroy it, Rakshata. I have some ideas for that unit. In the mean time, I want you to get me a complete copy of the Lancelot's combat data. The Guren's as well; it should be retrievable considering that the cockpit is still intact. I want to know exactly what happened last night." Lelouch instructed the eccentric scientist, who was always busy playing with her pipe.

"Of course. Would you like me to start work rebuilding the Guren?"

"No. Kallen's injuries were extensive. She won't be back in a knightmare for two months at the earliest." Lelouch informed her, successfully stopping himself from showing just how much it hurt. "I have a couple new project ideas that would best be explained in person. In the mean time we do need to start producing Gekkas, and lots of them. Compared to any of our current or theoretical adversaries, our forces are significantly outnumbered. Having superior knightmare frames will go a long way toward mitigating that." Zero explained.

"Very well. I'll start examining the Lancelot's internal systems. The design blueprints contained in the information you stole months ago were obviously outdated. Probably from before they even built the first functional prototype."

"Were the Lancelot's MVS blades or the Varis rifle recovered?"

"We have one of the swords. The Varis was destroyed at some point in the battle. They found a few pieces of it, but not enough to reconstruct the weapon without filling in the blanks first." Rakshata told him, sounding slightly disappointed. Lelouch shared the feeling. The Varis was bar none the most powerful knightmare small arm ever created. While the Gawain's primary weapons were more destructive, they were also built in to the frame, not a hand held weapon that could be easily carried into battle by any knightmare.

The conversation ended as Lelouch approached the front gate of the school. He wanted to get to work cleaning up their home above he ballroom, as well as assess the structure's safety. He needed to be sure everything was in place before he contacted Sayoko. Now that the region was firmly under Black Knights control, and there was little risk of another serious battle, he wanted to return his sister to some semblance of a normal life.

The past few months had been hard on the former prince. Sending Nunnally away with Sayoko was a hard decision to make, but he had been certain of it. The events that followed confirmed to him that he made the right choice. Being far away in Hokkaido, she was out of harms way. Her survival had also been easy to hide, preventing anyone from attempting to use her against him. A few months apart was a small price to pay for ensuring her safety.

Although there was still much to do, Lelouch was completely certain that he could easily manage it from home. The more he thought of home, the more a surprising thought started to stick in his head. Lelouch found himself wanting his old job back. He never regretted the course he had chosen for a moment, but missed the happy and somewhat carefree days before the revolution. He sighed and shook his head at his reflection on one of the Gekka's blank screens.

"I'm far too young to be reminiscing."


End file.
